Lend Lease (LL) says it will start work later this month on the first office building for its planned new East London International Quarter. The confirmation came less than 24 hours after the company and its joint venture partner Continental Railways (LCR) signed a pre-let with London’s transport operator to occupy the second phase of the £2.1bn Stratford development.
Transport for London (TfL) will take the entire 265,000 sq ft of the schemes first commercial building, transferring its 3,000 office staff to the new quarter sometime in 2016. Billed as the “next generation” of offices, it’s claimed the completed scheme will attract at least 25,000 workers and visitors to the site each day.
Located on the edge of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the joint developers say they are also in discussions with a number of other major tenants about moving to the four-million square feet International Quarter, which will be one of the capital’s largest new commercial developments.
Announcing the deal, Lend Lease’s chief executive officer for international operations, Dan Labbad, said: “Our ambition is to create the most agile, healthy and efficient workplaces in London and securing TfL for this major pre-let will make a lasting contribution to the local economy.”
His opposite number at LCR, David Joy, added: “We are pleased to have reached this pivotal milestone for one of the largest and most significant mixed-use developments in the UK.
“The International Quarter will be a major new employment hub in East London and securing the first tenant is a testament to the exceptional commercial environment we are delivering as part of the scheme and it can only serve as a catalyst to attract further major employers to the area.”
Justifying its decision to move its entire administrative staff to the new business district, TfL managing director Steve Allen, said: “We are consolidating our office accommodation into a smaller number of larger buildings and The International Quarter in Stratford provides the ideal opportunity for us to make further progress with its excellent transport links while enabling us to achieve significant savings.”
The International Quarter is seen as a central pillar in the regeneration of Stratford, providing the new commercial element and jobs to the area’s role as an important sporting, retail, cultural and academic destination. It’s also hoped Stratford’s recently-announced ‘Olympicopolis’ will attract a number of internationally renowned institutions, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Sadler’s Wells, the Smithsonian Institution, University College London and the University of the Arts London.
Work is already underway on the first phase of quarter’s development, at the gateway to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, with the construction of a 333-unit residential estate named Glasshouse Gardens overlooking the former Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre and ArcelorMittal Orbit.
