Frasers Property has secured a £100m green loan to finance its Whitechapel redevelopment.
The developer, investor and asset manager is redeveloping the Aldgate Bauhaus as the Rowe, adding six storeys and increasing the office space to 162,000 sq ft.
The loan, the first Frasers has taken, is funded by Mizuho Bank and the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, which also acted as the green loan coordinators.
The Rowe, designed by RIBA Stirling Prize-winning practice AHMM, will retain the 1960s facade and frame but add a glass, steel and concrete extension to double its space and presence. The scheme, which has already attained BREEAM Excellent interim certification, will also include more than 17,000 sq ft of outdoor terraces, including an all-year-round communal roof garden.
Climate-conscious principles underpin every aspect of the scheme, Frasers said, including using sustainably sourced materials and installing resource-efficient equipment throughout. The building will run on 100% renewable electricity and provide a 45% carbon emission reduction compared with a standard office building.
Martin Ratchford, chief financial officer at Frasers Property UK, said: “Developing the Rowe is an important step for Frasers in achieving our goal to be net zero by 2050, and our ability to raise this £100m sustainability-linked loan is key to being able to finance our portfolio with green and sustainable financing.”
He added that the design would reflect the desire for flexible, vibrant, sustainable and inspiring places. “The period of intensely occupied floorplates, poor technology and unsustainable design principles is thankfully drawing to a close.”
The building was the former home of London Metropolitan University’s School of Art, Architecture and Design, and its previous use has been a major source of inspiration for its retrofit and redevelopment, including artistic partnerships with university alumnus and visual artist Yinka Ilori MBE, who will create a site-specific installation. The artwork, placed on the sixth floor but visible from ground level, will wrap around the building to unite the old and the new.
The building is planned to complete in Q3 2022, and this month celebrates its “topping out”.
Frasers Property is committed to achieving net-zero carbon by 2050 and to be climate resilient by establishing mitigation and adaptation plans by the end of this year.
In the UK, the business is targeting net-zero carbon across operational areas of control by 2030, to certify 80% of its portfolio with green building certifications by 2024 and to finance most of its portfolio with green and sustainable financing.
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