A huge, vacant city centre building will undergo a £2 million refurbishment before re-opening as a “flexible” modern office space.
The Interchange office building on Nelson Street was one of two HMRC buildings in Bradford city centre until it closed in 2019.
It was put up for sale shortly after and was described by estate agents as Bradford’s “best located building”.
But the property attracted little attention, despite being next to Bradford Interchange and just a short walk from City Park and attractions like the Alhambra Theatre.
Now Leeds-based businessman Harry Sekhon has announced that he has bought the building and aims to have it re-opened as offices later this year.
He plans to have a mix of different sized businesses spread out across the building, from large companies to start-ups that may only employ a handful of people.
Regus, a company that provides small-scale office space to such start-ups, has already signed up to take on a floor in the building.
And talks are underway with two other organisations which hope to move to the office block, which is now called Latitude.
The aim is for the office space to be Grade A – a category that usually requires modern fittings and features such as air conditioning.
Despite a large number of vacant properties, Bradford has been said to be sorely lacking in the Grade A office space most businesses are interested in.
Another Grade A office building, the under construction One City Park, is also due to open this year.
Mr Sekhon already runs Maddison Offices, a serviced office complex in Pudsey, and hopes to replicate much of what he has done in that building on a much larger scale in Bradford.
Latitude is a six-storey building, with each floor measuring around 10,000 square feet.
The building also has a large underground car park.
While some floors will be divided into spaces for start-up or small-scale businesses, entire floors will also be available for larger companies.
There will also be communal spaces with features such as walls made up of artificial plants.
Mr Sekhon said: “The top floor of the building is ready to go, the other floors need renovating. They are going to have air conditioning. We’re hoping to open it in September.”
Referring to the small office spaces that will be created, he said: “If you have a small business wanting to locate in the city centre then can get a space where they don’t need to pay high rents or huge electric bills.”
The £2m works to the building will include a full refurbishment, repairs to brickwork, new interior decorations and works to the car park.
Mr Sekhon said it was important the building remained as employment space, as many offices in the city centre had been converted into flats in recent years.
He said: “We’re not turning an office building into apartments, were keeping it as offices.
“A lot of people don’t think there is a need or demand for office space any more, There is a demand – but it has changed.
“Businesses don’t necessarily want big, open plan floors. It would be in the past that one company would take a whole building. Now they might take one or two floors, and they want other amenities in the building.
“We want to get this building back into use. Yes, we are here to make money, but it is my passion to bring empty buildings back into use.
“A lot of companies are looking to invest in Bradford, they are just looking for the right building.”
He referred to the recent opening of a Bradford office for Price Waterhouse Cooper and the construction of the One City Park office space, saying: “I’ve got friends in Leeds who have asked why I’m investing in Bradford,
“It is starting to feel like Bradford is becoming more of a business hub. It feels like it is becoming a more prosperous place with City of Culture coming.”
In 2015 Government announced it planned to close three HMRC offices in Bradford, including the Interchange, as part of a shift to larger “hub” offices.
The Bradford HMRC jobs would be shifted to Leeds.
The other Bradford city centre HMRC office, Centenary Court near Forster Square, was due to shut in 2021, but a Government U-turn means that the office will remain open until at least 2027.
