rickster2k
January 20th, 2005, 12:07 PM
Got this from today's Times in London; looks like multiplex have got 'all there fingers in the pies' if you pardon the expression.
January 20, 2005
£1.5bn race to bulldoze Elephant and Castle
BY JENNY DAVEY
MULTIPLEX, the Australian property company that is building the new Wembley Stadium, is to bid for the £1.5 billion project to tear down the Elephant and Castle retail complex in southeast London in one of the biggest commercial property schemes in the capital, The Times has learnt.
Under the plans, the 1960s shopping centre, one of London’s most enduring eyesores, will be replaced with new shops, offices, and residential property.
The company, which has overtaken Land Securities to become Britain’s biggest property developer after an aggressive expansion programme, has appointed Donaldsons, the property consultant, to advise on its bid.
The scheme, which will span 170 acres, is one of the largest regeneration projects in London.
Multiplex is expected to face competition from groups including St Modwen, the property company that owns the existing Elephant and Castle centre; Berkeley Group, the housebuilder run by Tony Pidgley, and Hines, the American property developer.
However, some other large firms, including Hammerson and Land Securities, the developers behind the new Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham, and Stanhope, the property company run by Sir Stuart Lipton, are believed to have decided against bidding for the project.
Southwark Council, which owns about 80 per cent of the land at the proposed development, is due to advertise in the next three weeks for a commercial partner to build the scheme. It aims to pick a preferred bidder by the end of this year. Three years ago the council abandoned an earlier scheme backed by Godfrey Bradman, the property developer, over profit-sharing and design issues.
The new project will include 5,300 homes, 800,000 sq ft of shops, bars, restaurants and other leisure facilities, and 500,000 sq ft of public facilities including a giant civic square, set to rival Trafalgar Square in size.
The council envisages two giant towers as part of the scheme, with a view to putting Elephant and Castle on the map.
Meanwhile, the council hopes to place shops, cafes and restaurants around a new market square, which it hopes will have a character similar to Covent Garden and nearby Borough Market.
Under the plans, Heygate Street, close to the rundown Heygate housing estate, will be transformed into a 40-metre wide tree-lined avenue called Heygate Boulevard.
Southwark has already appointed Ken Shuttleworth, one of the architects behind London’s so-called “Gherkin”, otherwise known as 30 St Mary Axe, to oversee detailed urban design work on the project. Meanwhile Martha Schwartz, a renowned design consultant, is providing advice on the public spaces.
News of the interest from Multiplex comes just weeks after the Australian company signed up for new headquarters in Berkeley Square. The company recently teamed up with the Reuben brothers, the billionaire private investors, and Westfield, a rival Australian company, to buy Chelsfield, the property company founded by Elliott Bernerd. The group has also joined forces with Hammerson to build a £3 billion shops, homes and office project in Cricklewood, North London.
January 20, 2005
£1.5bn race to bulldoze Elephant and Castle
BY JENNY DAVEY
MULTIPLEX, the Australian property company that is building the new Wembley Stadium, is to bid for the £1.5 billion project to tear down the Elephant and Castle retail complex in southeast London in one of the biggest commercial property schemes in the capital, The Times has learnt.
Under the plans, the 1960s shopping centre, one of London’s most enduring eyesores, will be replaced with new shops, offices, and residential property.
The company, which has overtaken Land Securities to become Britain’s biggest property developer after an aggressive expansion programme, has appointed Donaldsons, the property consultant, to advise on its bid.
The scheme, which will span 170 acres, is one of the largest regeneration projects in London.
Multiplex is expected to face competition from groups including St Modwen, the property company that owns the existing Elephant and Castle centre; Berkeley Group, the housebuilder run by Tony Pidgley, and Hines, the American property developer.
However, some other large firms, including Hammerson and Land Securities, the developers behind the new Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham, and Stanhope, the property company run by Sir Stuart Lipton, are believed to have decided against bidding for the project.
Southwark Council, which owns about 80 per cent of the land at the proposed development, is due to advertise in the next three weeks for a commercial partner to build the scheme. It aims to pick a preferred bidder by the end of this year. Three years ago the council abandoned an earlier scheme backed by Godfrey Bradman, the property developer, over profit-sharing and design issues.
The new project will include 5,300 homes, 800,000 sq ft of shops, bars, restaurants and other leisure facilities, and 500,000 sq ft of public facilities including a giant civic square, set to rival Trafalgar Square in size.
The council envisages two giant towers as part of the scheme, with a view to putting Elephant and Castle on the map.
Meanwhile, the council hopes to place shops, cafes and restaurants around a new market square, which it hopes will have a character similar to Covent Garden and nearby Borough Market.
Under the plans, Heygate Street, close to the rundown Heygate housing estate, will be transformed into a 40-metre wide tree-lined avenue called Heygate Boulevard.
Southwark has already appointed Ken Shuttleworth, one of the architects behind London’s so-called “Gherkin”, otherwise known as 30 St Mary Axe, to oversee detailed urban design work on the project. Meanwhile Martha Schwartz, a renowned design consultant, is providing advice on the public spaces.
News of the interest from Multiplex comes just weeks after the Australian company signed up for new headquarters in Berkeley Square. The company recently teamed up with the Reuben brothers, the billionaire private investors, and Westfield, a rival Australian company, to buy Chelsfield, the property company founded by Elliott Bernerd. The group has also joined forces with Hammerson to build a £3 billion shops, homes and office project in Cricklewood, North London.