Crown Estate commits £500m to St James’s regeneration

Ten year programme will deliver 500,000 sq ft of new and refurbished office space

Article posted: 01 May 2011

The Crown Estate last week set out plans for a £500m investment and regeneration programme in St James’s, London, SW1, where it owns around 50% of the buildings.

Over the next 10 years its £1bn St James’s holdings will be targeted for investment that will, among other things, deliver over 500,000 sq ft of newly developed and refurbished office space, promoting St James’s as a successful and distinct sector of the West End office market.

The project aims to enhance St James’s position as a stimulating and eclectic shopping and dining destination by introducing new high quality occupiers and increasing the provision of high-end residential accommodation in the area. It will significantly improve the area’s public realm by introducing new crossings, wider footways and reduced street clutter, redressing the balance between pedestrians and vehicles while at the same time respecting St James’s celebrated heritage with development schemes that deliver architectural excellence.

Paul Clark, director of investment and asset management at The Crown Estate said: “Our plans for St James’s demonstrate our ongoing commitment to investing in our core specialist areas of activity, in central London, prime retail outside of London, and in offshore renewable energy.”

James Cooksey, head of St James’s portfolio at The Crown Estate said: “Today we are setting out our vision for the future of St James’s and publishing a series of nine strategies that will guide our delivery of this vision. As a major St James’s landowner and with a proven track record in partnership-led urban regeneration in Regent Street, The Crown Estate is ideally placed to work with the local community, landowners, businesses and political authorities, to deliver dramatic and lasting improvements in the area but importantly, to protect and enhance what makes it a cherished part of the West End, its unique history, heritage and architecture.”

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Posted by Jenni