15 May 2024

Phase Two of Landmark Leeds SOYO Scheme Reaches Completion

Caddick Construction, part of the wider Caddick Group, has completed construction of the SOYO neighbourhood’s two newest residential blocks in Leeds city centre on behalf of Hestia, the residential platform of Federated Hermes Real Estate.

Located at the south of York Road in Leeds, SOYO comprises two new residential buildings, known as Madison East and Mercer West, featuring 331 built-to-rent apartments, two commercial retail units, car parking facilities and sustainable public spaces for the local community. The project, focused on delivering quality modern living, has been developed by Caddick Construction through close collaboration with Hestia and joint enterprise partner Caddick Developments.

The £57.4m project follows the completion of an earlier phase at SOYO, New York Square, where Caddick Construction delivered two 16 and 17 storey, build-to-rent apartment developments, housing 515 unique one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments for Moda Living.

SOYO is the newest multi-use neighbourhood in Leeds city centre and once complete the state-of-the-art quarter will offer over 1m sq ft of space to live, work and enjoy. The new development includes some of the largest green public spaces within the city, high-quality residential buildings and a hub for local artistic exhibitions, enhanced by its location at the heart of the city’s cultural district.

Hestia is focused on delivering affordable residential assets that will have a positive impact on the environment and communities in which they resideSince its inception, Hestia has embodied Federated Hermes’ Responsible Property Investment agenda by sourcing and developing homes in neighbourhoods people want to live in, to a specification enhanced by an eight year operational track-record and all aligned to the Hestia Net Zero Carbon Pathway.

The project’s contribution towards creating vibrant and authentic communities has been emphasised by the recent appointment of local artist EV Hardaker (Emma) as SOYO’s ‘Artist in Residence’. Having worked with Emma for almost five years, Caddick Group recently cemented this partnership with the launch of THE ARCH, a major temporary art installation embodying the area’s identity. Emma will be further animating the area as the major regeneration project enters its final phase.

Paul Dodsworth, Construction Group Managing Director, comments: “Before a spade had even hit the ground on SOYO Madison East and Mercer West, collaboration was at the forefront of our operations. Working in partnership with Hestia and our sister company, Caddick Developments means that we can ensure we achieve the very best quality across the board, creating landmark residential developments that regenerate a vibrant neighbourhood in Leeds city centre.”

“As we continue to grow our residential portfolio across the north of England, SOYO Leeds marks a flagship era for us, and we look forward to seeing the space form a new cultural hub for this thriving metropolitan city.”

Matthew Chillingworth, Fund Management Director, Federated Hermes, said: “The collaboration with Caddick on Mercer West Madison East has been highly successful, resulting in the delivery of 331 high quality sustainable homes, all set within Leeds’ vibrant new Cultural Quarter. We welcomed our first residents in January and expect to be at full occupancy by the end of the summer, which is testament to the continued demand for high quality home environments, which offer the amenities that residents really value, at accessible prices.

Lee Savage, Director at Caddick Developments, said: “We are very excited for the SOYO regeneration project to continue its progress and make a further contribution towards the vibrant, modern and sustainable district being established at the heart of Leeds’ cultural quarter. The project brings together high-quality residential spaces, fantastic public realm and green areas, and collaborations with local artistic talent like Emma, to deliver social positive change, as well as jobs and investment into the local economy.

“Now approaching its final stage of development, we look forward to continued partnership working with both Caddick Construction and Moda to deliver this transformational scheme in full.”