Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has announced Scarborough Group International, the privately-owned property regeneration specialist, as the preferred developer to redevelop its Old Medical School into a health tech innovation hub.
The proposed agreement to acquire and refurbish the grade II*-listed building was unveiled at the UKREiiF property conference in Leeds and represents the first phase in the development of the Innovation Village, a proposed cluster for science, innovation and technology surrounding the new hospital development at Leeds General Infirmary.
The Innovation Village proposes 2.2 million square feet of development and 500 homes.
SGI plans to create a “health tech ecosystem” at the Old Medical School to encourage collaboration between clinicians, academics, researchers and entrepreneurs.
The proposals preserve the building's "Tudor Gothic" style while including laboratories, coworking spaces, offices and communal areas, along with a new atrium over the inner courtyard.
Completed in 1894, the original red-brick building was designed by Leeds architect WH Thorp as the home to one of the first provincial medical schools in England. The building houses the Trust’s pathology department, which is relocating to the Centre for Laboratory Medicine at St James’s University Hospital.
West Yorkshire Combined Authority has provisionally identified the Old Medical School as a major project set to benefit from the £160 million West Yorkshire Investment Zone. The project is expected to create 237 jobs.
The site is within the Innovation Arc, a series of connected neighbourhoods formed around Leeds General Infirmary, University of Leeds, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds Arts University and the city’s West End.
Dame Linda Pollard, chair of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “The Old Medical School has a proud history as a place of learning for past generations of surgeons and doctors and an exciting future as a hub for future generations of health tech innovators.”
The minister for investment, Lord Dominic Johnson, said: “The UK continues to solidify its position on the world stage as a leader in science and technology.
“I'm delighted to see Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust leverage private sector investment to help create a globally recognised health tech innovation hub at its historic Old Medical School site. This exciting project taps into the UK's strengths in the life sciences sector, fostering economic growth and innovative healthcare as part of the West Yorkshire Investment Zone.”
Property adviser Fox Lloyd Jones advised Leeds Teaching Hospitals during the marketing process for the Old Medical School.