Found this, i'm not liking the tower much at all. Only high quality talls should appear on Leeds' skyline imho.

http://static.flickr.com/25/100191785_ac1a300f72_b.jpg

I agree with those comments. My guess is that this would look a lot better if the copper clad part was instead clad in stainless steel like Bridgewater Place?

Could Providence Tower briefly become Leeds's tallest between the construction of Bridgewater Place and La Lumiere or is this unlikely?

Could be, depending on when it happens. Lumiere may well start first though.

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i really like the design.

when is construction gonna start on this project? does anyone have an idea ?

No, we don't know. We have no concrete information, but on the basis that the website was launched, the marketing suite is nearly complete and Pioneer Reach (one of the smaller blocks) was been released for sale a few months ago, i'd suspect that they'd be gearing up for a start fairly soon.

With many of these things, we'll know they are getting started when the grey sheds on site get demolished and the on site car park shuts.

there advertising on taxis, saw one the other day. "natural is the way forward" or somethng like that.

I agree with those comments. My guess is that this would look a lot better if the copper clad part was instead clad in stainless steel like Bridgewater Place?

Could Providence Tower briefly become Leeds's tallest between the construction of Bridgewater Place and La Lumiere or is this unlikely?

The render doesn't inspire the highest level of confidence.

Again, my understanding is that its only one of the low rise blocks (Pioneer Reach) released for sale so far, not Providence Tower. On that basis I'd expect that Lumiere starts first, although it doesn't have planning permission and hasn't yet been released for sale. From what the construction papers have been saying, Lumiere is already tendering, and Linfoot has said he wants to start asap. We've heard nothing re: contractors for building Green Bank. Perhaps they are more coy with their publicity..... who knows.

You never know, Mayfair may get cracking as well. Until there are official media announcements we really don't have much of a clue.

isn'y mayfair supposed to start this summer?

I really like the green bank design, the copper should give good variety to the grey that is our skyline. Having grass roofs, gardens, and emphasis on community is fantastic the buildings all look high quality and fit in with the environment around it. Plus the balconies look like more than two square meters.

There is a luanch party for Greenbank this Wednesday. The marketing suite will be complete (should be complete!) and this is where it will be.
I understand that there are Greenbank liveried taxis and these might be used to get clients around to the development from the sales office in town.

thats odd the one i saw was in headingley

I understand that there are Greenbank liveried taxis and these might be used to get clients around to the development from the sales office in town.

Surely those Greenbank taxis would only say Greenbank on them for advertising purposes similar to other taxis with advertising on them already such as those advertising Radio Aire and would therefore not be purely for ferrying people to the development site.

I never said 'only for taking clients to the marketing suite'.
If they can book them, then it would make sense to use those that are done up to look the part.
You might see these taxi's in Headingley - they're taxi's and they take people around the city...
To have these taxis on standby, just for the use of the sales agent would be marketing suicide and huge drain on funds.

We've heard nothing re: contractors for building Green Bank. Perhaps they are more coy with their publicity..... who knows.

I believe that Wimpey have their own construction teams, I don't know whether they can tackle something this big, or whether they could do part of it and get other contractors to do the specialist elements. Either way, negotiations are often confidential and information may not be released to the media.

Drove past the marketing suite today. Looks very nice from what I could see. They were just finishing putting the plants in around the parking area, ready for tomorrow's events.

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TOMORROWS EVENTS ? WHATS HAPPENING ?

For heavens sake onix, its not that difficult to work out. Stig's post on the 4th June - number 259 to be pedantic, which was only 6 before your own, clearly explains what is happening on Wednesday. Here's a hint, have a look and see what you come up with.

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you really have a terible, bitchy attitude. the sort of person you would just love to slap.

Actually, I find Jimbo's posts very informative and I always look forward to reading them. The point he's making is that we should perhaps have a look at what people have posted before jumping in with questions that have already been answered.

you really have a terible, bitchy attitude. the sort of person you would just love to slap.

Jimbo's point is quite valid - though he could have been a bit more diplomatic in making it. I get irritable also when we are given - and often without attribution - articles first appearing in the YEP, often days or weeks previously (and which I am sure most of us have already read) as if they are the latest thing. :)

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But to most people in Leeds, and most readers of the YP, they are the latest news as suprise suprise most people don't scour the internet for news on developments.

[QUOTE=Leeds No.1]But to most people in Leeds, and most readers of the YP, they are the latest news as suprise suprise most people don't scour the internet for news on developments.[/QUOTE

Yes No. 1, you are the culprit in this. If no one else complains about your quotes from the YEP, which as I said are often days if not weeks after publication, that's OK with me, but please just append a note as to the source of the articles.

Its kinda obvious when it says leedstoday.net; I realise most of them are a few days late, but they usually provide more information ontop of whats there already.

Not been slapped since my Mum (justly) objected to me owning an air pistol aged 14. Had it coming to be fair, but fortunately her fears didn't materialise and instead of becoming a streetsmart wise guy with a posse of ill chosen acquaintances, I ended up in a suit at a City institution working 10hr days and worrying about share prices and bond economics. What a giggle. Interesting times.

ho hum, we seem to have digressed from the case in point to be fair.

Any news from the Leeds Green Bank launch then compadres? No doubt lots more investors ploughing in off plan as Stig mentioned.

Sadly my friend didnt attend the launch as he hinted he may do, but I do have some news about this development, hot off the press.
New website launched : http://www.pioneerreach.gb.com/home.php
Showcases the "current phase", so looks like the tower will be a wait yet.
Also some new renders on there I believe, if anyone is handy at ripping the pictures.
Plus floor plans and confimation that Pioneer Reach is nine floors high.

Oh, forgot to mention, http://www.greenbankleeds.com/flashSite/home.htm has been changed and now has lots more info and pictures on it.

look okay - bit of pap in a sort of gothic type manuscript about Leeds being seen as the UK's Barcelona since one famous London emporium opened, but I supposed we can't sniff at a bit of over embellished advertising hype.

This suggests they are still trying to shift the Pioneer Reach apartments, of which i think there were around 150 or so. Its been launched for ages nationwide, so perhaps sales haven't been that great - if a second phase had been released we'd know they were bullish about it. Anyhoo, more progress, I'd expect to see them on site anytime now. Seems churlish to wait, it'll be two years of demolition, site prep and construction before anyone gets to move in I'd think.

Yes, I too was somewhat surprised to see that there were still apartments left for sale, especially as on the first site plan it seemed to indicate that the tower and whitehall road block were also to be released, but they no longer are available according to the new plan. This would suggest to me that things are not going quite as well as expected at the moment. It would probably help investor confidence if they actually made a start on site, because it's all been rather slow since the turn of the year with regards to this project.

Can't believe there are 7 'blocks' of flats, plus the tower - they are still only selling flats in one of the blocks, meaning they have'nt even sold a whole block yet, despite national press and local radio advertising for a while...
Admittedly it is the larger of the 7 blocks... 2 of the blocks are tiny and across the road...
Wonder which block will be next? The one behind the tower?

Looking at the availability section on their website, only 13 apartments remain. Not suprised about slow sales though, the prices are absurd. 2 beds start at 211k. You can pick up 2 beds for 40-50k less than that in better locations.

http://www.pioneerreach.gb.com/images/thedev_pic1.jpg


http://www.pioneerreach.gb.com/images/pr_hdpic_home_02.jpg


http://www.pioneerreach.gb.com/images/thedev_pic2.jpg




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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v429/Kesaph/SkyScrapers/GBdusk.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v429/Kesaph/SkyScrapers/GB1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v429/Kesaph/SkyScrapers/GBplan.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v429/Kesaph/SkyScrapers/siterender.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v429/Kesaph/SkyScrapers/siterender.jpg

Top Banana, Stig.

That's the first worthwhile image so far, and I'm warming to it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v429/Kesaph/SkyScrapers/siterender.jpg

Looking at the triangle railway junction junction below the development at Green Bank is there any plans for this unused site (I believe this is where the Brick Man sculpture was proposed in the 1980s but am just wandering if anything has been planned recently for this unused space)?

As for the development itself it is a bit daft regarding Skopies comments about the overpricing of the development by many thousands of pounds considering the first phase of this building would not be constructed for at least a year or two and you could move in tomorrow if you purchase an already existing development which costs less. Im a bit concered about the battleship grey that seems to be used on the railway side to the low rise construction of this development as well as dark grey might not give a good first impression to Leeds. Hoping Providence Tower will turn out well but if you look at the image above you can see the wide space used purely for copper which could potentially detract from the attractiveness of this building. However could we see a revision in the design (particularly with regards to Providence) as the construction takes place as seen with other large scale examples of development such as Whitehall Riverside.

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Well you could say that but if you think about it, its really no different to having all the cars that go past your house every day- some of which Im sure will be interested in what the houses are like.

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I went to the marketing suite and the model is jolly fine indeed! In fact, the whole place is very well done. They spent >£1m apparently...anyway, the scheme looks like it will be quality. It also looks like the next release will be the tower because that is what most people have been asking about and are interested in. If you get a chance, go and take a look, although only the two buildings released so far are "filled in" in the model. In fact, the tower itself has not received full pp yet as the final design has not been submitted...

i think this development is great looking and its no surprise that most of the interest has been for the tower element of this development im sure the tower will provide some of the best veiws ofthe city for those lucky enough to purchace a flat in the tower.

I went to the marketing suite and the model is jolly fine indeed! In fact, the whole place is very well done. They spent >£1m apparently...anyway, the scheme looks like it will be quality. It also looks like the next release will be the tower because that is what most people have been asking about and are interested in. If you get a chance, go and take a look, although only the two buildings released so far are "filled in" in the model. In fact, the tower itself has not received full pp yet as the final design has not been submitted...

Well done Magic, good news all round.

In fact, the tower itself has not received full pp yet as the final design has not been submitted...

Are you sure about this ? Application 20/499/04/FU was a full application that received full approval, and included the following description - 'Multi level development up to 31 storeys with 833 flats commercial units car parking and landscaping' so clearly included the tower.

If there is anything left to approve, it could be just a caveat about finishes, or any minor alterations that have or will be made.

Are you sure about this ? Application 20/499/04/FU was a full application that received full approval, and included the following description - 'Multi level development up to 31 storeys with 833 flats commercial units car parking and landscaping' so clearly included the tower.

If there is anything left to approve, it could be just a caveat about finishes, or any minor alterations that have or will be made.
Hmm, that's what I thought but the girly told me the reason the tower in the model has not been "built" is because the final design is not yet decided...whether "approved" and "decided" are different things I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

called in and had a nosy around this afternoon

http://img153.imageshack.us/img153/8475/img08253bo.jpg

fantastic marketing suite with two very helpful and fine looking ladies on hand for assistance. A fine pair of assets in the marketing game..... ;)

2 bed show flat was good size, well fitted out etc, but as with all these new developments I find the ceilings far too low, something about having 12ft ceilings when growing up makes me feel cramped in these new builds. £230k for 1000sq ft, sounds great, but then you only get 500sq ft for the same price on my street which puts things in perspective somewhat.

Starting on site 'later in the summer' which could be anytime. Lots more advertising on the current industrial buildings on site etc etc.

Nice photos across all the threads Jimbo.
I'm really looking forward to this project getting started (well I have been ever since I thought it would start in the early spring but nevermind!), and believe if it is built as well as it looks on the renders it will be one of the best projects in Leeds.

Marks Barfields entry for this comp. On Page 25.

http://www.marksbarfield.com/images/marks_barfield_brochure.pdf

http://img297.imageshack.us/img297/3430/marksbarfieldgreenbankjr7.jpg

Thanks for finding that render Di Livio I like its shape as well as provision of a large area of green space. It would have looked cool provided the materials and build are up to scratch. So considering George Wimpey has all but axed their scheme at Green Bank (by putting it on hold and returning all deposits) couldn't the owner of this site who's name escapes me approach another potential developer for this site and is their no sort of guarantees for such competition development such as Green Bank (and also Criterion Place) that they should be developed.

Is their any news on the future of this site as it was rather psychic that myself and Skopies comments from June 2006 saying that this development is overpriced (and was this only to encourage nieve London and international investors to invest in this development where better stuff was available for less in a more central location).

If this scheme is never resurrected, what will happen to the marketing suite? What is it being used for atm? It seems to me that with renovation, in changing it's use from a marketing suite to a residential property, it would make quite a nice grand-designs style house. If the immediate area was landscaped, it could have a good bit of garden and perhaps fetch some high prices. It would be one step to family city centre living.

If this scheme is never resurrected, what will happen to the marketing suite? What is it being used for atm? It seems to me that with renovation, in changing it's use from a marketing suite to a residential property, it would make quite a nice grand-designs style house. If the immediate area was landscaped, it could have a good bit of garden and perhaps fetch some high prices. It would be one step to family city centre living.

Sorry to deflate your grand idea no 1, but the marketing suite is in a post-industrial wasteland, with an ever present threat (if you read some of the earlier posts) of having your windows smashed in and your plasma screen TV nicked by the local droog army. I can think of better places to raise my kids than Globe Road.

I know, but the area is changing. By the time it were to happen, it would be expected that Latitude, Whitehall and Wellington Place would be complete, as well as many projects in HUV.

It would make a nice office for the Holbeck Urban Village team to work out of. (I'm not sure if they have one in round foundry already though?)

Otherwise it'll probably be taken on by whoever purchases the site as their own marketing suite.

That Marks Barfield design is awful, looks like a giant wall plonked on the site.

Well it is a big wall effectively. Yes I dislike it similarly.

It would make a good office yes.

Sorry to deflate your grand idea no 1, but the marketing suite is in a post-industrial wasteland, with an ever present threat (if you read some of the earlier posts) of having your windows smashed in and your plasma screen TV nicked by the local droog army. I can think of better places to raise my kids than Globe Road.

Also it's only meant to be a temporary structure (presumably pre-fabricated) which was supposed to last only several years for when the Green Bank development was supposed to be under construction prior to being replaced with the final phase of development. Surprised considering it appears completely alone and disused that it hasn't been heavily vandalised or even torched? Has anyone been up close to this building lately and was it an empty shell or was there still stuff in there? Although used for totally different things I can see a similar thing happening to the Marketing Suite for Green Bank as what happened to the Quay Bar in Manchester which although Stirling Prize nominated had a lifespan of only 9 years from 1998-2007 and was extensively vandalised when it became derelict in 2005.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/141/393478579_de4a2f7bca.jpg?v=0

Surely it might take a while but eventually this site would be developed into something special in the future when the economy picks up again.

Trouble up north as apartment prices slump

With one major scheme mothballed and a struggle to find tenants, city centre rental investors are sitting on losses

Alexander Garrett The Observer, Sunday March 9 2008

With a planned 400ft skyscraper and six blocks housing 800 apartments, Green Bank was hailed as 'one of the most influential and trendsetting developments Leeds has seen' when it was launched in 2005. Its large piazza, accommodating shops and restaurants, was to bring the metropolitan lifestyle to a derelict site beside the once-polluted river Aire.

But at the end of last year developer George Wimpey announced that the £100m scheme was being mothballed. The explanation, according to a spokesman, was 'uncertain market conditions' in Leeds city centre - shorthand for saying that the market had become saturated with new apartments aimed at investors.

The past 10 years have seen an unprecedented wave of city-centre apartment developments in a number of northern cities, with Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds the most prominent. But for some investors who piled in to buy them, often in the hope of making quick gains, their investments have already turned sour. Inflated prices, unrealistic rental expectations and rising interest rates have conspired to turn the dream of making easy money into a nightmare.

According to Leeds City Council, some 7,184 apartments have been completed in the city centre since 1998, with another 3,640 under construction and a further 7,216 receiving planning consent. Andrew Wells of Leeds auctioneers Allsop estimates that of the apartments which have been sold, '75 or maybe 80 per cent' have been sold to investors. He calculates that more than 4,000 buyers who bought since prices started to fall in 2005 may now be sitting on a loss, with apartments in 'fringe' areas typically worth £20,000-£25,000 less than their owners paid for them.

'I don't want to give the impression people are slitting their wrists,' says Wells. 'In fact, they seem to be sitting tight, even if it's not clear how they're managing to do so.'

The worst scenario, he says, would be if investors decided en masse to 'dump their stock' and prices went into a downward spiral.

As it is, Wells says prices in the prime areas of the city have largely held their value and the number of repossessions of city centre apartments is still very low. The saving grace has been in the rental market, where demand and prices have both strengthened in recent months, even if many of those buy-to-let owners still cannot get enough rent to pay the mortgage.

Nevertheless, council tax data shows that as many as 30 per cent of city centre apartments in Leeds are empty, either because they have not sold or because their buyers don't want them any more.

Manchester has experienced an even bigger apartment boom, with property investors again leading the way. A decade ago, there were just a couple of thousand people living in the city centre, a number that has already swelled to 15,000 and is forecast to reach 25,000 by 2010. But the vast majority of these new apartments were also bought by investors of one kind or another and many are now trying to sell. On the Rightmove website there are 750 apartments for sale in the Manchester 1 postcode alone.

The 47-storey Beetham Tower, Manchester's tallest building, is a case in point. When it was first released to the market in 2005, the apartments were snapped up despite prices that set new records. But of the 220 apartments, many are now back on the market. One agent alone, Shepherd Gilmour, had 45 available on its books at the latest count. Director Laura Smith says they are mainly being sold by investors: 'It's the same with most of the rental market. Interest rates went up and the yields don't stack up any more. People who bought were also relying on capital growth, which hasn't happened.'

A surge in rental demand has again proved the saviour. Even if owners can't sell, they can usually find a tenant who will pay most of the mortgage, and some developers are reported to be letting out new properties rather than selling.

John Broadbent, head of residential development at the Manchester office of Knight Frank, believes that the current slowdown is temporary and that demand for property in the city centre will grow, not least because of the stress of commuting. 'There are 300,000 people who work full- or part-time in the city centre every day. Many have to cope with terrible congestion - it takes me one-and-a-half hours to get in from Prestbury in Cheshire,' he points out.

And so to Liverpool, currently a European Capital of Culture, where the apartment boom was slower to get under way. Liverpool had, after all, been in decline for decades until the latest regeneration effort got under way.

In December, the Liverpool Daily Post reported that a repossessed apartment in Liverpool's Beetham Tower - a scheme by the same developer as the one in Manchester - had been sold at auction for £101,000, less than half the £206,500 it had fetched in May 2004.

James Kersh, of agents and auctioneers Sutton Kersh, says prices in Liverpool have been resilient so far. 'That may be because Liverpool is still cheap compared with the market as a whole.' And investors are still buying in Liverpool, he adds, though no longer the inexperienced ones who expected to make a quick profit. Quality developments are shining through, he says, a good example being the Unity Building beside Liverpool's Three Graces, where two penthouse apartments have recently been sold for £1.5m apiece.

In all three cities, the people who have really had their fingers burned are those who have paid too much to buy in second-string developments on the strength of unrealistic rental and price expectations. It looks as if most are hanging on - but a serious downturn in the market could still prove bloody...

Like a voice from beyond the grave:


Reference
10/01666/EXT/C

Applicant
Globe Road Ltd

Description
Extension of time for Planning Application 07/00018/FU (Erection of a 33 storey tower with 184 flats and flexible ground and first floor A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, B1, D1 and D2 commercial space)

Location
Land on Whitehall Road and Globe Road

Agent
C B Richard Ellis
Mrs M Barnes
Bank House
27 King Street
Leeds
LS1 2HL

Ward
City & Hunslet

and


Reference
10/01670/EXT/C

Applicant
Globe Road Ltd

Description
Extension of time for Planning Application 20/499/04/FU (multi level development up to 31 storeys with 833 flats commercial units car parking and landscaping)

Location
Land on Whitehall Road and Globe Road

Agent
C B Richard Ellis
Mrs M Barnes
Bank House
27 King Street
Leeds
LS1 2HL

Ward
City & Hunslet

Presumably this application to extend the planning permission is to keep the land vaue as high as possible for when Wimpey decide to sell the site.

"Presumably this application to extend the planning permission is to keep the land vaue as high as possible for when Wimpey decide to sell the site."

Pretty much. Only costs £500 to extend the life of a planning permission and next to nothing in consultants' fees. Expect to see quite a few more of these over the next few months.