Park Square property's £3.5m office makeover under way

A huge £3.5m refurbishment is under way at a magnificent 19th century Leeds landmark.

- by James Connolly

The Grade II listed St Paul's House, which overlooks Park Square, is one of the jewels in the city’s crown.

Built in the stunning Venetian style by architect Thomas Ambler, it was originally a warehouse and cloth-cutting works for Sir John Barran, the founder of the mass-production, ready-made clothing industry in Leeds.

As part of a radical overhaul, property bosses said the significant investment would provide some of the best office space in the city.

Elizabeth Ridler, office agency partner at the Leeds office of Knight Frank, said: “Once the refurbishment is complete, it will be a tremendous mixture of the old and the new.