MCM Group is delighted to announce that Unit 12, a 38,000 sq ft warehouse at Felnex Road off Pontefract Lane, Leeds, is to be redeveloped creating a new high specification, industrial property suitable for use as a storage and distribution facility or trade counter. Planning permission has just been granted
The rush to win Amazon’s approval for its second headquarters to come to Minnesota isn’t lost on officials who have decided to take a different tact to their competition. Instead of offering north of $1bn in sweetheart deals to attract Amazon to certain other states, the officials in Minnesota are
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
MCM Group is delighted to announce that Unit 12, a 38,000 sq ft warehouse at Felnex Road off Pontefract Lane, Leeds, is to be redeveloped creating a new high specification, industrial property suitable for use as a storage and distribution facility or trade counter. Planning permission has just been granted for the building to be completely stripped back to its frame and reformatted. In order to maximise the 1.68-acre site, the footprint of the original property will be reduced to 28,537 sq. ft which in turn will provide additional yard space and parking areas. North East-based property investment company MCM Group, which acquired the site earlier this year, has been working with Carter Towler’s Industrial Agency team and S&SA Architects designing a redevelopment scheme that would maximise the potential of the existing building and land. Commenting on the scheme, MCM Group’s Investment Director Douglas Cranston said: “We are really excited to see this project get underway and complete an extensive refurbishment that will future proof such a well-located asset. The initial demolition work has now started on site and Walter Thompson Contractors will commence the rebuild. We are aiming for the new property to be ready for occupation early in the New Year. “We are keen to expand our property portfolio and were particularly interested in investing in Cross Green. This area just to the east of Leeds city centre is flourishing with leading businesses including Amazon, DHL, CEF, Euro Car Parts, Premier Farnell, Fedex, John Lewis, Symingtons and BCA but there is a marked shortage of medium-sized industrial properties which we hope to help address.” Carter Towler’s Industrial Agency Director Josh Holmes added: “While we have been advising MCM Group on the reformatting and marketing of the site we have received a number of very promising enquiries from potential occupants. We are confident given the high-quality refurbishment being undertaken and roadside prominence of the site that we will secure an occupier before it’s completed in January.” Tom Goode, Associate with the industrial property team of Knight Frank in Leeds, concluded: “Felnex Road will provide some much needed high quality stock to address the current supply and demand imbalance in West Yorkshire. Located between J45 of the M1 and Leeds city centre, the building occupies a prime and prominent position fronting Pontefract Lane and will appeal to both trade counter and logistics occupiers alike”. Felnex Road is located directly off the A63 close to junction 45 of the M1 and just 1 mile east of Leeds city centre. Tom Goode and Iain McPhail at Knight Frank in Leeds have been appointed as joint marketing agents.
The rush to win Amazon’s approval for its second headquarters to come to Minnesota isn’t lost on officials who have decided to take a different tact to their competition. Instead of offering north of $1bn in sweetheart deals to attract Amazon to certain other states, the officials in Minnesota are relying on just $3m in benefits from programs that already exist. The bid from Minnesota was submitted a day ahead of the deadline for states to put their best offer in before Amazon started to look at proposals for the location that would eventually employ as many as 50,000 people in the selected state. Measured, Business-like Proposal The governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton, commented that the state was intentionally taking a different approach to other states because it was felt they had more to offer. Given that Amazon plans to employ 50,000 people at their second headquarters, the affordability of real estate MN is certainly a factor that puts it ahead of other markets like New York or California. The proposal itself puts its focus on transportation, the workforce and the educational background. The idea of including quirky gimmicks to tempt Amazon was discarded because it wasn’t seen as something relevant for a real estate and incentives proposal of this kind. All indications suggested to them that Amazon were not interested in such things and looked at any proposal on the balance of the benefits to its company and the employees over the long-term. Transport Links Seen as Key For a global e-commerce company like Amazon, transportation hubs and easy airport connections are a big selling point. Whether it’s the ease with which key executives can fly around the country or better traffic management processes that avoid bumper-to-bumper traffic jams for hours on end of some other congested states, the time saved in transport adds up with a large workforce. Highly-trained Workforce One thing that the commissioner of employment and econ development, Shawntera Hardy, was keen to point out was how well educated the Minnesotan workforce is. With a deep talent pool, this makes it far easier for Amazon to fill key positions with local people to avoid the costly relocation packages necessary to tempt people into a different state to work with the company at the headquarters. Big Competition from Other States The incentives offered by other states will be tough to beat though. Newark in New Jersey are offering a total of $7bn in tax breaks to Amazon which is the second largest offer of its kind by a US state. Over in Chula Vista, the City Council wanted to welcome Amazon to the sunshine state with $400m of tax breaks. Not to be outdone, the Memphis City Council offered up $60m in tax breaks weeks earlier. Maryland is also expected to make a tax incentive offer that will beat most rivals. It’ll be interesting to see which state wins and whether Amazon will explain their decision-making process after deciding on where their HQ2 will be situated. We can only wait and see.
