Thursday, April 30, 2023
Toronto Square office scheme in Leeds to achieve an 'excellent' BREEAM rating
Highcross' new Toronto Square office scheme in Leeds is on course to achieve an 'excellent' BREEAM rating when work completes this June.
It will be the first extensive redevelopment project in the city centre to achieve such a high rating and the only 'excellent' BREEAM rated building in the traditional office and financial core.
The achievement is particularly significant, because the development is a combination of an existing office building and new build. Highcross has added three new glazed floors to the original building, plus a full height extension to the rear, creating more than 90,000 sq ft of Grade A office space.
To improve the environmental performance of the building, Highcross opted for renewable energy technology. Air source heat pumps have been installed, which extract the heat from the air around the building and convert it into energy to drive the building's heating and cooling system. As well as being energy efficient, the pumps offer low co2 emissions.
External lighting at the scheme has been designed to reduce light pollution and the building has used locally sourced products, including stone from Huddersfield.
Highcross has also invested in initiatives to improve the site's ecology, providing areas of green roofs; nest boxes to encourage black redstart, swifts and house sparrows, plus a landscaping scheme using native species of plants.
The scheme's excellent location in the city centre, within two minutes of extensive public transport links, were important factors in achieving full points in the transport section of the BREEAM assessment. Highcross has also provided 38 undercover bicycle racks, showers and locker facilities to make it easier for employees working in the building to cycle to and from work.
Chris Mills, commercial development director at Highcross, comments: "This is a great achievement, which places Toronto Square firmly on the map as one of the leading office developments in Leeds city centre, offering excellence in its environmental performance as well as its facilities, appearance and location in the heart of Leeds' business district."
Agents for Toronto Square are CB Richard Ellis and Knight Frank. Jonathan Shires of CBRE comments: "Toronto Square now meets both central and local governments' stringent requirement for high BREEAM rated buildings, which is a significant marketing advantage. As well as being efficient to run, the building's environmental performance also helps companies moving to the scheme to reduce their own carbon footprint, which is increasingly important with a raft of new legislation on the horizon."
It will be the first extensive redevelopment project in the city centre to achieve such a high rating and the only 'excellent' BREEAM rated building in the traditional office and financial core.
The achievement is particularly significant, because the development is a combination of an existing office building and new build. Highcross has added three new glazed floors to the original building, plus a full height extension to the rear, creating more than 90,000 sq ft of Grade A office space.
To improve the environmental performance of the building, Highcross opted for renewable energy technology. Air source heat pumps have been installed, which extract the heat from the air around the building and convert it into energy to drive the building's heating and cooling system. As well as being energy efficient, the pumps offer low co2 emissions.
External lighting at the scheme has been designed to reduce light pollution and the building has used locally sourced products, including stone from Huddersfield.
Highcross has also invested in initiatives to improve the site's ecology, providing areas of green roofs; nest boxes to encourage black redstart, swifts and house sparrows, plus a landscaping scheme using native species of plants.
The scheme's excellent location in the city centre, within two minutes of extensive public transport links, were important factors in achieving full points in the transport section of the BREEAM assessment. Highcross has also provided 38 undercover bicycle racks, showers and locker facilities to make it easier for employees working in the building to cycle to and from work.
Chris Mills, commercial development director at Highcross, comments: "This is a great achievement, which places Toronto Square firmly on the map as one of the leading office developments in Leeds city centre, offering excellence in its environmental performance as well as its facilities, appearance and location in the heart of Leeds' business district."
Agents for Toronto Square are CB Richard Ellis and Knight Frank. Jonathan Shires of CBRE comments: "Toronto Square now meets both central and local governments' stringent requirement for high BREEAM rated buildings, which is a significant marketing advantage. As well as being efficient to run, the building's environmental performance also helps companies moving to the scheme to reduce their own carbon footprint, which is increasingly important with a raft of new legislation on the horizon."
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