Leeds hotel 42 The Calls has been put up for sale, years after it closed for a luxury refurbishment.
The landmark waterfront building on the banks of the River Aire was rescued from administration by local entrepreneur Simon Pollard back in 2018.
It had also been home to much-loved local restaurant Brasserie Forty 4 for almost three decades, which closed around this time.
42 The Calls operated as a hotel for around a year after Pollard acquired it, before closing for refurbishment in 2019.
The vision was to create a new luxury five star hotel, complete with rooftop champagne bar, with dreams to be open for business by 2021.
But Covid struck, the world slowed, and 42 The Calls never actually reopened.
Now a huge for sale sign has appeared on the side of the 28,000 sq ft building seeking potential buyers to complete its five-star luxury redevelopment.
As well as the 37-bedroom hotel filled with lavish suites, the building includes a riverside dining space and a range of entertaining spaces.
The vision board for 42 The Calls even includes the option for guests to arrive in a chauffeur-driven Rolls Royce, or by the hotel’s own Riva boat which will pick you up from the train station and take you on a river cruise to the hotel, arriving to a glass of champagne.
The hotel listing says: “Originally built in the 18th century, this Grade II listed site is a fantastic waterfront location that’s steeped in local history, renovated as Leeds’ first boutique hotel in 1991.”
The listing also states that this is an opportunity to ‘rekindle 42 The Calls Hotel as the finest destination in Leeds’.
The landmark sale includes planning permission valid until January 2025.
When The Hoot shared a video of the empty 42 The Calls building earlier this year, we were flooded with comments crying out for it to reopen.
One person wrote: “Absolutely agree, superb potential, prominent location. Shame that its redevelopment appears to have stagnated.”
Another said: “Yes it’s got so much potential. Don’t think its previous owners made the most of it either.”
Someone else commented: “Used to work in brasserie 44.. such a shame to see it still empty and unloved.”
Hopefully this sale will finally see the wheels turning at 42 The Calls again.
Read more: Beloved Leeds indie, Wapentake, is saved from closure following local investment
Featured image: The Hoot Leeds
