IT WAS once a key building in the country's woollen industry, with a reported 70 per cent of all wool produced in the UK being brought onto site for testing.
But for the past three decades, the imposing Grade II listed Conditioning House in Bradford has gradually fallen into a shocking state of disrepair.
Seeing past the rotting beams, collapsed floors and water and fire damage, developer the Priestley Group has taken on the forlorn-looking building, and has begun the painstaking process of regenerating it.
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Once complete next year it will have been transformed into 150, mainly one and two bedroom apartments, as well as office and commercial space – and will become the firm’s biggest project to date.
Since starting work on site almost a year ago, the company has removed asbestos and tested for dry and wet rot throughout the large four-storey building.
They have also worked to shore up unsafe parts of the building, and still have a lengthy task ahead.
Current work is focusing on repairing and replacing rotten timber joists and roof trusses, as well as replacing the entire roof across the two mill buildings and the building that links them.
Six and a half metre length giant timber beams are being slowly brought on to site and lifted up through a hole in each floor, before being fixed into place.
So heavy are these beams, that it is taking around ten men to install each one.
Rob Pell, head of construction at Priestley Construction, told the Telegraph & Argus during a tour of the building, that once this part of the work is completed, it will allow the project to move on in earnest.
“We’ve been involved in the building for three years, but up until March this year you couldn’t walk on many of the floors.
"It’s been a three month process of testing before we can safely say they are okay to use.
“At one point we thought it might be 100 per cent floor replacement, but after testing it tends to be higher up the building as the upper floors have more water damage due to the missing roof slates and lead.”
He added that around 50 people were working on site each day, but that this would increase massively when the fit out started in the coming months.
Of the listed building status, he added: "We have a number of restrictions and conditions on the external work due to its listed status, but internally not so many.
“Keeping the lifting wheels is the only condition applicable to the inside, and we are looking to make a feature of them – and they will be visible from the atrium and some apartments.
“We are retaining the columns, and some will be kept as a feature in apartments.
“In addition the bridge walkways between the two mills will be used as balconies for the apartments either side.”
Repairs and preservation work will be taking place to the stonework, including the eye-catching carved stones above the main gate, which is also to be restored.
The project will also involve removing the massive cast iron and concrete press which is in mill two rising through the centre of the floors. But first, the best way to do this needs to be investigated.
Plans to refurbish the building on the corner of Canal Road and Cape Street, were approved by Bradford Council last year. More recently a second application to create a mezzanine floor in the roof space, allowing for extra apartments to be created, has also been approved.
More than 100 of the apartments have already been sold to investors all over the world.
Around 30 are to be held back until the project is finished intended for local buyers.
The heritage building, which has been Grade II listed for the past 36 years, was built in 1902 and was used to check and control the moisture content of textiles.
It is the only one of its kind in this country and is built around three sides of an open court.
Almost 70 per cent of all wool produced in the UK was brought there for testing prior to use at one point.
However the building has been empty for more than 30 years.
When the plans were approved last year, Priestley Homes said the development would cost around £8.5 million.
It would see the imposing building converted into 133 one, two and three bedroom flats, office space, a gym and cafe.
The latest changes add an additional 17 flats to the scheme, which is expected to be completed late next year.
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