Broadgate heads for a facelift:

London’s iconic Broadgate development is to get a spruce up if a planning application submitted by the owners, British Land and Blackstone Group, is approved the London Office Database blog from Estates Gazette reports.

The 32-acre (13 ha) office and retail estate in the City of London was built in the 1980’s and as well as providing some 4 million square feet of mixed usage real estate it is also home to some of the City’s most iconic public art, including Richard Serra’s Fulcrum, a 55ft tall installation.  The application will see more shops and restaurants as well as outdoor seating and new canopies to create more usable outdoor space.  It is understood that the application also includes for the conversion of certain basement areas into gyms, not a bad idea given that approx. 25,00 work in the estate.

It is assumed that the planning application is timed to dovetail with the current redevelopment of numbers 4 & 5 Broadgate.  No. 4 was at one time home to the late Security Pacific and no. 5 is to become the new UBS HQ in the City.

It is hoped that the new design will also include for more viewing areas for the outdoor ice rink, as, in the winter months, it is usually very difficult to get a decent spot to see the antics of those skaters who have recently left Corney & Barrow!

Maidenhead site in British Land grab

Grenfell Island, a road locked office and leisure complex in the centre of Maidenhead, Berks. has been acquired by British Land in what can be seen as a pre-emptive strike in the great Crossrail dash.  Grenfell Island is ideally situated opposite the rail station in Maidenhead and comprises some 113,000ft² of high quality office space together with a cinema and health club.  British Land purchased the 9.5 year unexpired lease term from the private vendor for £75 million.  The building is let to Hutchison 3G UK Ltd, and is the UK headquarters of Hutchison Whampoa Ltd, a telecommunications and data services provider.

Maidenhead is at the western end of the new Crossrail line, which, when completed, will link the town with Heathrow, the West End, the City and Canary Wharf with high frequency fast rail services.  Having endured a period of slow decline on recent years it is hoped and anticipated that this will be the first of many such acquisitions and developments that look to cash in on the capital growth that the advent of the new line is hoped to bring.

The Crossrail project carries a £15.9 billion budget and the current programme sees services starting to run in the central section in London following the completion of the main infrastructure works at the end of 2018, with the outlying services following in the months after.  The project will see the implementation of many innovative engineering and technical solutions and programmes.  There are also many other Health & Safety initiatives, including specialised training for over 4,000 lorry drivers to highlight the skills required to navigate the capital’s roads.