Four companies have been shortlisted to develop a 10-acre regeneration site opposite London’s O2 arena.
The quartet will now submit detailed proposals for East India Dock Basin, E14, a former maritime hub on the north bank of the River Thames.
The London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC) and Lea Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) selected the companies from 15 outline proposals and more than 110 expressions of interest.
Initial proposals include commercial, community and leisure facilities, but residential development will be precluded from the site.
The successful scheme will be announced by LVRPA and LTGDC later this year and it is anticipated that work will commence in 2009. The development is expected to be completed by 2011, in time for the 2012 Games.
The development corporation wants to transform the site, one of the first phase projects for the new Lea River Park in the Lower Lea Valley, into a park and visitor destination.
LTGDC chief executive Peter Andrews said: “East India Dock Basin is a central element of our vision for the new Lea River Park – driving regeneration in the area.
“The facilities we hope to see at the site will create one of east London’s premier open spaces, connecting the community to its surrounding area and creating a high quality, vibrant destination for all to enjoy.”
Alan Plumb, of Savills leisure and property team in Oxford, which advised the development corporation, said: “We were delighted with the level of interest shown in the site, and with the imaginative ideas put forward.
“Preserving the site’s heritage and ecology were some of the most important elements we considered. Our work as consultants is finished now but we look forward to seeing the end result within the next three years.”
