Great Portland Estates has secured an option from the Crown Estate to allow it to redevelop French Railways House and 50 Jermyn Street, SW1.
The new headlease and development agreement, if exercised by GPE, will see it redevelop the site as 66,800 sq ft of grade-A offices over seven floors above shops and restaurants.
GPE secured planning for the designs, by Make Architects, in May 2022.
Its current interests at French Railways House and 50 Jermyn Street are held on leases expiring in 2053 and 2057 at a combined fixed rent of £13,250 per annum.
The new headlease across both buildings will be for a term of 129 years and geared to 10% of rents received.
ESG targets have been incorporated into the agreement, including embodied carbon, energy use intensity, delivery of NABERS, and biodiversity net gain, along with agreed reporting requirements to ensure continued collaboration between GPE and the Crown Estate during the design, construction and operational phases of the building’s lifecycle.
The scheme will embrace the principles of the circular economy, retaining the existing foundations and basement and reusing the structural steel from the former building on GPE’s 2 Aldermanbury Square development in EC2.
GPE executive director Dan Nicholson said: “This is a brilliant opportunity for GPE and the Crown Estate to work in partnership to create best-in-class office and retail space in the heart of St James’s. Sustainability is at the core of our redevelopment strategy and we are aiming to set a precedent for London by reusing over 1,000 tonnes of structural steel, creating premium spaces that deliver on the needs of our customers, into a market that is increasingly starved of such exceptional properties.”
To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews
