Land Securities is plotting a major mixed-use redevelopment of London’s famous Piccadilly Lights island site.
LandSec wants to demolish several under-used buildings on Shaftesbury Avenue, Regent Street and Denman Street, W1, including the former NatWest building, while retaining the façades of 19 and 20 Denman Street and the Piccadilly Lights.
In their place, the REIT wants to build a 248,000 sq ft mixed-used development on the island site, which is bordered by Denman Street, Shaftesbury Avenue and Piccadilly Circus.
That would represent a substantial uplift through filling in the space with a six-storey building with three basement levels. The site is currently occupied by 124,000 sq ft of office, retail and leisure space.
LandSec began site assembly in 1968, and brought the site, known as Monico, into single ownership in 2012 by buying the 23,354 sq ft 19-23 Shaftesbury Avenue.
The project includes 73,000 sq ft of shops, restaurants and cafés on the lower three floors, with 171,000 sq ft of new office space and seven luxury flats above.
Significant public realm improvements would be made, along with leisure space accommodating a cinema, small theatre or performance space.
As many as 34m pedestrians pass the block – which houses the famous Coca-Cola hoarding – every year.
The electronic advertising hoarding is believed to have first been illuminated in the 1890s. At 10ft long and nearly 23ft tall, it is the UK’s largest curved LED display.
Fletcher Priest Architects designed the scheme; JLL is advising on planning.
A spokesman for Land Securities said: “We believe a unique opportunity exists to unify the Monico site in a single, high-quality and architecturally considered development that honours its history and has Piccadilly Lights at its core.”
