Construction of a new landmark 20-storey residential tower in Leeds city centre’s Arena Quarter has hit a major milestone after a topping out ceremony was held to mark it reaching its highest point.
Known as Live Oasis St Albans Place, the scheme on Wade Lane is being developed specifically for the city’s burgeoning student market, by Infinity Construction Enterprise Limited, part of the YPP Group.
The development will consist of 212 furnished apartments, complete with their own kitchens, en-suite bathrooms and living areas, as well as first-class amenities.
Principal contractor, Farrans Construction will complete work on the development this summer and the apartments will be ready to move into in time for the start of the 2023/24 academic year. The scheme will be managed by YPP Lettings, under the company’s Live Oasis brand.
A spokesperson for YPP said: “The topping out of this development is a major milestone. This is YPP’s biggest development to date and from the outset our ambition has been to push the boundaries of what we do both as a developer and in terms of student accommodation in Leeds.
“The result is a landmark building, in a really exciting area, that will genuinely offer the wow factor, complete with spectacular views from the upper floors and an amazing eighth storey roof terrace for residents to enjoy. This is in addition to all the amenities that make our Live Oasis developments so popular including numerous study areas, residents’ lounges, private dining facilities, concierge services and a fully equipped gym with separate workout studios.
“As a result, we’re already receiving enquiries from students who want to live in what promises to be the city’s hottest student address and we’re really looking forward to work completing in the coming months.”
Cathal Montague, regional director for Farrans Construction, said: “The topping out milestone, particularly on a building of this size, is a good moment for the team involved to take a step back and take stock of what has been achieved so far. It has been a challenging year for the construction industry and we are pleased to be on programme with this project. It is a testament to the hard work of the project team and the excellent collaboration that has been taking place between our client, architects, supply chain and YPP.
“The cutting-edge design has relied exclusively on precast construction from the first floor upwards with a façade design and high-quality material palette. We have been able to optimise the speed of construction using innovative technology without compromising on the luxury finish. The precast panels offer a more sustainable approach to construction delivery as well as working well in a tight site footprint by minimising the lorry deliveries. We have a lot of experience of delivering technically challenging projects of this nature, in a central location, with a small site footprint and using Modern Methods of Construction.”
In addition to Live Oasis St Albans Place, this year YPP will also complete work on another 168-apartment scheme in the Arena Quarter, known as Live Oasis Merrion Street Gardens and a 133-apartment scheme, called Q Three Residence, on Westgate.
