£56m plans announced to transform part-built Leeds city centre hotel site

Select Property Group is now the new owner of Portland Crescent, the site of the part-built Leeds Arena Hotel.

Select has revealed plans to invest £56m in transforming the hotel into 273 ‘premium’ student apartments.

This will be the company’s second site for its Vita Student brand in the city, with its St Alban’s Place site already under construction. Portland Crescent takes Select’s investment in Leeds city centre to £110m.

Subject to planning, work will restart on the site later this year.

When both Portland Crescent and Vita Student’s 376-bed St Alban’s Place are live, it is projected that they will inject £17.7m into the local economy and create 216 FTE jobs in the Leeds Metropolitan area.

Mark Stott, CEO of Select Property Group, said: “Leeds is an obvious choice for Vita Student, with three fantastic universities and a community of students who are ambitious and driven.

“For us, finding the right locations for our residences is key and we’ve done just that with Portland Crescent and St Alban’s Place. We’re looking forward to becoming an engaged part of the Leeds community at our two new Vita Student addresses.”

Councillor Richard Lewis, Leeds City Council’s executive member for regeneration, planning and planning, added: “This is a prime development site at the centre of our civic quarter and our priority is to ensure it is brought back into use. We have been working very hard to help facilitate that.

“Increasingly the area is also a vibrant student hub and our student population makes a significant contribution to the city, both economically and socially.

“Therefore this scheme potentially offers an appropriate use of this location. I look forward to seeing more detailed plans being brought to us for consideration.”

Roger Marsh OBE, chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and a member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, commented: “I am delighted to see this important city centre development move forward, and that Select Property Group has reaffirmed its commitment to our City Region through its investment in a second site in Leeds.

“It’s been a tireless effort by the Combined Authority, the Council and the LEP to bring this strategically important development site back to market and ensure that the initial taxpayer investment in the site would realise the full economic benefits for which it was intended.

“Select Property Group’s plans to develop the site and the existing building infrastructure as new, high quality student accommodation is projected to bring a near £18m boost to our economy as well as create significant employment opportunities for local people.

“It will also complement the £80m of investment the LEP and Combined Authority have made in new, world-class education facilities across the region over the past three years to ensure that Leeds City Region remains a destination of choice for talented young people and one of only two areas outside London to report a “brain gain” of graduate talent.”

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