It doesn’t yet have the allure or gravitas of the prestigious and gleaming Canary Wharf, but Stratford seems set to step out of the commercial property shadows cast by the Docklands development and reach Pippa Middleton’s level of sisterly fame.
Construction company Lend Lease and landowner London Continental Railways, partners in the International Quarter Stratford City development, have appointed real estate and investment managers Jones Lang LaSalle and integrated commercial property services provider BNP Paribas Real Estate as joint agents to market the £1.3bn urban regeneration scheme. A total of 4m sq ft of grade A offices are on offer, along with 350 homes, 1.2 hectares of civic and public space, plus schools and municipal facilities. This combination is expected by many commercial property professionals to make the International Quarter a serious alternative to Canary Wharf, for both businesses and residents.
Work is scheduled to begin on the 22-acre site after the 2012 Olympics, with commercial property ready for tenants by the end of 2014.
The East London borough, for many years known for deprivation, poverty and for not being the Stratford-upon-Avon of Shakespearian fame, is also destined to be an attractive commercial property proposition thanks to its links effect. St Pancras will be a quick seven-minute journey, while the City and the West End are already an inviting twenty minutes away. The Docklands Light Railway is already available in the area, international travellers will be well served by nearby City Airport and, in 2018, Crossrail will open, providing a direct link to Heathrow.
The new development will be situated next to the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, where commercial property opportunities exist across 1.9m sq ft of space, reportedly making it the largest urban shopping centre in Europe; 80% is already occupied, with the opening due on 13 September this year. Stratford seems to be a commercial property contender to watch out for.
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