JLL to advise on Stratford Island scheme

  Jones Lang LaSalle has been hired to advise on securing a developer for the £1bn Stratford Island scheme close to the 2012 Olympics site in east London.   London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC) and Newham council are in the process of compiling a shortlist of interested developers, with the successful applicant being decided upon in the autumn.   The 11.7-acre plot, which will be an extension of Land Securities’ Stratford shopping centre, will include retail, leisure, residential and offices alongside cultural and educational facilities, including a £40m campus for the University of London’s Birkbeck College.   LandSec had originally drawn up plans with joint venture partner Barratt to buy the long leasehold of much of the site for a circa £600m mixed-use development.   Following an EU Ruling in January 2007, which involved a leisure centre in the French town of Roanne, Newham was forced to tender the entire site publicly.   Work on the scheme is due to begin in 2009.   Chief executive of LTGDC Peter Andrews said: “We are pleased to be working with JLL on this important project.   “Stratford will be at the centre of the 2012 Games and will be catapulted on to the world stage. The Island site is a key part of its regeneration.”   Andrew Hume, director of development and asset strategy at JLL, said: “We are delighted to be selected in competition to advise on this important development opportunity, which will underpin the growth of Stratford as a strategic centre.”   laura.mcbride@egi.co.uk