British Land has confirmed that the development of 4 Kingdom Street, a nine-storey office building on the Paddington Central campus, is now underway.
Following the acquisition of the campus in July 2013, British Land commissioned architects Allies and Morrison to update the existing plans for 4 Kingdom Street, which were approved in 2010.
Westminster Council granted planning permission for the updated proposals in 2014. They retain the bulk and massing specified in the original plans, while increasing the flexibility of the floorplates and improving amenities for occupiers.
This was achieved by relocating the core of the building to maximise space and efficiency, resulting in floor plates of 15,000 sq ft, each with its own corner terrace. The plans also include a communal roof terrace providing outdoor space for break-out, entertaining and sports activities.
Commenting on British Land’s arrival on site, Head of Office Development, Robert Samuel, said: “We are excited to be starting our development plans at Paddington Central and are pleased with the enhanced design of 4 Kingdom Street.
“The campus already attracts high calibre occupiers from a broad range of industry sectors, and is increasingly seen as a natural extension of London’s West End office market.”
Padddington Central is an 11 acre mixed-use campus comprising seven modern buildings totalling 1.2 million sq ft. British Land owns three of the existing buildings along with a retail and leisure cluster totalling 610,000 sq ft. Following the completion of 4 and 5 Kingdom Street, the size of the campus will increase to 1.6 million sq ft, with just over 1 million sq ft wholly owned by British Land.
The area, which is already well served by rail and tube, is set to benefit from the arrival of Crossrail in 2018, improving connections to the City and Canary Wharf.
4 Kingdom Street is expected to be completed in early 2017.
