Work completed on £25m transformation of Leeds city centre’s Bond Court development

The £25m regeneration of the Bond Court area in Leeds city centre has been completed by Evans Property Group.

Working in collaboration with Leeds City Council, the property developer’s five-year project has transformed the area to comprise new offices, a 5-star luxury boutique hotel, restaurants and new public spaces.

Evans Property Group considers the flagship development of Bond Court to be the 95-bed, 5-star Dakota Deluxe Hotel, which opened in May.

The new Dakota hotel includes the destination Bar & Grill restaurant and Salon Privé, a cocktail bar with a first-floor terrace.

The programme of works at Bond Court includes the upgrade of the Minerva and Capitol buildings, creating more than 50,000 sq ft of Grade A, BREEAM Excellent office space.

The new offices are complemented by £1m worth of public realm and landscaping works, including new pedestrian links to Greek Street.

The Capitol office building has seen law firm hlw Keeble Hawson secure a lease for the mezzanine floor; planning practice Quod North relocate its Leeds office and CAP Automotive Ltd expand its headquarter operations within the building.

Additionally, Minerva has seen a host of lettings; discretionary investment manager, Standard Life Wealth, property firm BNP Paribas, global financial services company UBS and law firm Gateley have all joined the tenant lineup.

Existing occupier CDI AndersElite has also expanded into a larger suite to facilitate its expansion.

The new retail and leisure lineup at Bond Court comprises the newly-launched 180-cover Tattu restaurant in Minerva House. In addition, Living Ventures’ Blackhouse Grill restaurant has now committed to Bond Court with a 25-year lease extension.

Alan Syers, portfolio director at Evans Property Group, commented: “Leeds is a major hub for professional services and its office market has seen unprecedented levels of demand.

“The transformation of the Bond Court area has created a hugely desirable office and leisure destination, a dynamic connection of the city’s traditional commercial district with its retail core.”

“It has been a busy and exciting time working with Leeds City Council on this high profile project and we are very proud to see the whole scheme come to fruition.
“Before 2013, Bond Court was in a poor state of repair and forgotten by many local businesses. These works have transformed it into a thriving, stylish and upmarket city centre destination.”

Cllr Richard Lewis, Leeds City Council’s executive member for regeneration, transport and planning, added: “At a time when tourism visits to Leeds are growing year on year, quality hotel developments are a welcome addition to the city centre.

“The redevelopment of Bond Court and the buildings around it have been transformational and are indicative of the economic confidence in Leeds.

“Bond Court is now a high quality piece of public space, which, thanks to these improvements is less car dominated and we are already seeing increased footfall on the space.”