Mayfair office plan gets green light

Westminster Council has granted Legal and General Property (LGP) planning consent for a new West End office in London’s Hanover Square, expected to become one of Mayfair’s most sought after squares following the completion of Crossrail. The redevelopment will comprise a 56,000 sq ft high office-based scheme, arranged over two basements, ground and seven upper floors. The office element will provide typical floors of 8,200 sq ft, whilst there will also be two retail/restaurant units on the ground floor, totalling 9,300 sq ft and fronting Hanover Square.

Work is due to start on site in August 2014, with completion targeted for March 2017. MAKE Architects is behind the designs of the building, which uses Portland stone with punched windows. The Portland stone façade also incorporates artwork by Catherine Bertola which will give the building a rich texture and a striking presence on the square. The aim is to create a premium office offer which appeals to corporate and financial tenants who value prime London square locations with good transport links, with complementary retail facilities

Simon Wilkes, Head of Business Space Development at Legal & General Property, said: “With a shortage of high quality West End office space, both in terms of current supply and that forecast to come to the market, we believe 7-10 Hanover Square has the potential to take advantage of strong occupier demand when it is delivered to the market in 2017.

“Additionally, with a Crossrail station due to be positioned directly opposite the scheme, we feel sure that Hanover Square will take its place as one of the premium business addresses in London and benefit greatly from this and the other regeneration projects that support the area.”

Commenting on Hanover Square, Cara Bamford, Partner at Make Architects, added: “This mixed use scheme will be a fabulous, modern addition to the classical architecture in Hanover Square. Rather than being a pastiche of the existing traditional architecture, our contemporary buildings will enhance the surroundings, providing high quality commercial space alongside much needed residential accommodation and ground floor retail and restaurant units which will breathe life into the Square.”