Aire Park: Creating a new community on the edge of Leeds city centre

Credit: Aire Park

Aire Park is set to blossom this year, as demand in Leeds grows, writes Simon Schofield head of development North at Vastint UK.

The latest Leeds Office Agents Forum statistics show that office take-up more than doubled in the first three months of 2024, compared to the final quarter of 2023, demonstrating that demand for high quality space in the city is on the rise.

Since the end of the first quarter, demand has continued and we’re already seeing strong interest in Aire Park, the city’s newest mixed-use district, with high-quality office space centred around what will be the UK’s largest new city centre park.

The interest and growth in rents, which this year hit £38 per sq ft, breaking previous records for the city, demonstrate the strength of Leeds city centre’s office market.

Infrastructure Bank chose to headquarter in Leeds and Channel 4 selected the city for its out-of-London home as well as indigenous businesses such as PanIntelligence, Crisp, and Sky Bet seeing continued growth and creating jobs. So it’s easy to understand where the demand for high-quality office space is coming from.

It is against this backdrop that Aire Park will bloom this year. Our first commercial spaces on the development – 1 and 3 South Brook Street – are set to launch. These two buildings offer 190,000 sq ft of Grade A office space, overlooking the iconic Tetley building which is currently home to Kirkstall Brewery. 3 South Brook Street features an impressive 5,000 sq ft atrium and includes some of the largest floorplates available in Leeds, up 23,562 sq ft. Both buildings will also open up onto the recently launched Tetley Green, the first piece of the new public park.

1 and 3 South Brook Street office space is set to launch. Credit: Aire Park

And whilst 1 and 3 South Brook Street prepare for their first tenants, which we hope to be able to reveal shortly, work also continues throughout the development. The wheels are in motion for the second of our commercial buildings, with ground works complete and construction underway, and we have also revealed our plans for the final phase of Aire Park.

But while occupier interest and demand are key, the success of Aire Park won’t simply be dictated by rents and businesses, it will be delivered by the city’s wider communities.

For all of us at Vastint UK, the success of Aire Park comes down to how well we create a place where people want to work, live and enjoy their free time. That’s why we’re excited to open the next piece of the park in 2025, which will create more new green space and help further improve connectivity between the city’s traditional core, Leeds Dock, and the wider South Bank.

As we move forward, it’s important to remember that in Aire Park we’re ultimately creating a small town on the edge of the existing city centre. When complete, the development will see 10,000 people working there, a 50-fold increase compared to before we started, with a further 3,000 people calling it home.

Perhaps the best metric for success at Aire Park is how well we integrate this whole new community with the existing city, extending the centre to the south of the river. It’s crucial we approach this by looking at how we add to Leeds’ rich offer rather than simply replicating it. If we do this right, I’m confident that Aire Park will be a must-visit destination for Leodensians and those who simply come to enjoy the city.

But don’t take my word for it – as summer comes, take a walk on the south side of Leeds, visit the new public realm, stop by The Tetley for a pint or a coffee and get in touch if you’d like to find out more about Aire Park.

• Simon Schofield is head of development North at Vastint UK