The Light

A new retail arcade in central Leeds

Project summary

  • Client: MEPC
  • Location: Leeds
  • Sector: Retail & Leisure
  • Size: 140,000 sqft
  • Value: Circa £28 million
  • Status: Completed

Story

A vibrant retail and leisure destination for Leeds city centre, The Light successfully integrates the old and new around a central courtyard. The new structure accommodates four levels of leisure uses including a thirteen screen cinema, health club and retail units separated from the listed buildings by a glazed arcade.

A new destination

The scheme includes a 4 star hotel run by Radisson SAS, along with adjoining and integrated retail and leisure uses, spread over 4 floors, anchored by a 13 screen cinema with 3,000 seats, health club with swimming pool 24 retail units, dropin centre over 3 levels in Headrow House, quality restaurants and nightclubs. The new hotel and some of the leisure and retail uses are accommodated within the listed buildings which are retained at the main frontage of the site, and form an ‘L’ shape within which sits a new central block housing the four levels of additional leisure/ retail. This innovative new section incorporates 3 levels of basement car parking with in excess of 420 car parking spaces.

Located in the central city area of Leeds, DLG have taken advantage of the natural changes in level across the site to achieve pedestrian entry points on 2 levels.

The design continues the ‘arcade’ tradition of Victorian Leeds in a quite dramatic fashion, through the roofing over of 2 existing streets. New entrance facilities where created aswell as a new lift within the existing life core for PCT with finishings to compliment existing design. In doing so the scheme has provided a lively public space within Leeds City centre, confirming the city’s status as one of the leading centres for shopping and tourism in the North of England.