Grosvenor’s ‘largest’ office retrofit up for approval

Grosvenor’s plans to retrofit and extend an office asset in Belgravia are up for approval at Westminster Council’s planning committee meeting on 21 January. The proposals would extend the building at Ebury Gate, 23 Lower Belgrave Street, SW1, by 15,855 sq ft through lateral extensions of the first to fifth floors and the erection of a new set-back sixth and seventh floor. This would result in an additional 17,644 sq ft of office space, albeit with a 1,836 sq ft reduction of the food and beverage space on the ground floor, which would also be reconfigured to provide new entrances. Rachel Dickie, executive director of investment and development at Grosvenor said: “Ebury Gate is the largest retrofit project we have undertaken to date. It brings together everything we have learnt from our recent retrofit projects, providing an opportunity to refine, innovate and work towards demonstrating that retrofitted buildings can be successful for occupiers, the planet and the industry.” The Morrow + Lorraine-designed scheme will be an all-electric development which seeks to be “visibly green”, aiming for BREEAM Excellent and NABERS five-star ratings. While planning officers noted an objection based on loss of daylight and outlook from a resident of nearby Belgravia Court, they said the “economic benefits of the additional office floor space in this location” outweighed the “regrettable” harms. According to research from Cushman & Wakefield, office supply in central London remained high compared with the 10-year average in Q3, with take-up for grade-A office space making up 70% of all take-up. Speaking at the time the research was published, Andy Tyler, head of London office leasing at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “With a constrained development pipeline, we should begin to see a reduction in vacancy rate within the next 12 months which, in turn, should put yet further upward pressure on rental values, especially in key locations.” Image: Ebury Gate. © Morrow + Lorraine