Priestley Construction has started work on a £2.5m mixed use refurbishment project on Marygate in the heart of Wakefield city centre.

Marygate House, which was originally built as an office building in the 1970s, will be transformed into 26 apartments over three floors and the existing ground-floor retail units will be upgraded with new shop fronts and canopies, to create an impressive and rejuvenated streetscape, on behalf of developer, IP Marygate House.

Nathan Priestley, CEO of the Priestley Group, said: “As a Yorkshire-based business, we continue to see the huge potential in the region’s smaller towns and cities, such as Wakefield, which is a city on the up, driven by a council that is committed to bringing its ambitious regeneration plans to life.

“We are thrilled to start work giving Marygate House a new lease of life, as well as significantly enhancing the local street scene in a sought-after part of the city centre, within the main retail centre and close to the historic Civic Quarter.

“Our experience in delivering high quality residential developments in key city centre locations has enabled us to create a vision for a scheme that will be a fantastic place to live, as well as being a valuable asset for both Marygate and Wakefield as a whole.”

The development will offer a selection of studio apartments, as well as one and two bedroom homes, that will all benefit from generous open-plan living areas, large windows, spacious bathrooms and high-speed fibre broadband.

The homes will be ready to move into summer 2024.