Land Securities ended 2016 on a high note with White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds celebrating the Topping Out of the scheme’s transformative 65,000 sq. ft. leisure extension. A formal ceremony was held today, commemorating the final beam laid at the peak of the centre’s soon-to-be IMAX screen. To celebrate this occasion, Rob Jewell, Portfolio Director at Land Securities; Mike Thomas, Portfolio Manager at Land Securities; Steven Foster, General Manager of White Rose Shopping Centre; Councillor Kim Groves, Labour Councillor for Middleton Park Ward and Chair of The Employment and Skills Board for Inner South Leeds at Leeds City Council and Peter Finegan, Senior Project Manager from Morgan Sindall, were all on site for the occasion.
The extension will introduce six new restaurants, including Wagamama, TGI Friday’s, Chiquito and Pizza Hut, alongside an 11-screen, state-of-the-art IMAX Cineworld cinema, an event space, as well as a bespoke children’s play area. The leisure-focused extension will complete the full-day experience for the centre’s loyal and buoyant customer base.
As a longstanding and committed champion of the Leeds’ community, Land Securities – in partnership with Morgan Sindall – has ensured open communication and engagement with Leeds City Council to strengthen the destination – as seen in Leeds City Council’s recent £270 million transport improvements announcement. White Rose Shopping Centre has remained a popular choice for the Leeds community and a strong performer in Land Securities’ retail portfolio for nearly two decades. The new leisure extension will further strengthen and future-proof White Rose Shopping Centre’s dominance in the market, allowing for improved and expanded public realm works throughout the scheme. It follows previous investments into areas in the scheme, such as The Balcony which opened in 2014 introducing 5 new F&B brands, adding 20,000 sq. ft. and revitalising the design of the centre’s food court.
Rob Jewell, Portfolio Director at Land Securities, commented “The Topping Out ceremony today marks the team’s achievement since breaking ground in April and is an important step towards practical completion in just over 3-months’ time. We are all so excited to complete this vital extension to the scheme, and look forward to opening new restaurants and the cinema next summer. At Land Securities, we are committed to providing customers with best-in-class experiences, and we are proud to say that – with the partnership and support from Leeds City Council and Morgan Sindall – we are achieving that here at White Rose in creating a space that fits the needs of those who work and shop at the centre, and bringing future prospects to those that live and shop in the area.”
Peter Finegan, Senior Project Manager at Morgan Sindall reflected, “We are very pleased to reach topping out on such an exciting project. Our work here will leave a lasting legacy, providing a platform for retail and leisure-focused businesses to establish themselves in one of the most popular shopping destinations in the North. The employment opportunities provided by the retail industry are crucial to the people of Leeds, and Morgan Sindall is proud to be laying the foundations for the creation of hundreds more jobs in the area.”
Cllr Kim Groves, Labour Councillor for Middleton Park Ward and Chair of The Employment and Skills Board for Inner South Leeds at Leeds City Council confirmed, “Leeds Council wholly supports the extension at White Rose Shopping Centre and the opportunities it will bring the local community. White Rose Shopping Centre acts as a landmark in the community having provided jobs to Leeds for nearly two decades, as well as offering an estimated 350 full time and part time job prospects once the extension we are celebrating today has been completed. We have worked closely and collaboratively with Land Securities throughout the development process in order to ensure we had a shared vision for the centre’s loyal community, something which we can see today has been a huge success.”
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