Tall & Urban News

Leeds Street is currently one of the least built-up areas in Liverpool’s city center, surrounded at many points by open space, car parks and dealerships. But a series of projects could eventually see the road flanked by new high-rise towers, completely changing how it looks.

One development, the Freemasons Row scheme, between Gladstone Street and Saint Bartholomew Road, received permission from the council last week, having originally been submitted in 2017. And work started on another scheme further up the road this year.

Infinity is a new project that could eventually bring three huge high-rises to the road, with views across the Mersey and to North Wales. The first tower is currently being built by the Elliot Group, with the largest tower set to be 39 floors and hold more than 400 residences.

Mark Connor, chief executive of Vermont Construction—which is working on the Infinity project, said when the project launched in January that it was one of a number of very tall buildings the company is working on in the city. “It’s an exciting development and we’ve got an international team providing their expertise, which is a testament to how far we’ve come in such a short space of time, and we are very proud to be delivering a building that will have such a positive impact on my home city.”

Permission has also been sought to build on other plots of land in the area, such as the Via Verde scheme, proposals for which went forward in 2016. That could eventually see five towers built on the corner of Leeds Street and Vauxhall Road, but it does not yet have planning permission. The site is currently listed for sale on SK Real Estate for GB£20 million (US$26 million).

The Infinity scheme also sits close to the stalled Pall Mall project, previously run by liquidated company North Point Global. That site was bought by the Elliot Group last year, with the company saying it plans to tear down the skeleton of the old buildings and put forward new plans for the area.

For more on this story go to Liverpool Echo.