The Ministry of Defence has drafted plans for a potential £1bn sale of Hyde Park Barracks in Knightsbridge, SW7.
The Defence Infrastructure Organisation – the Capita-run body which manages MoD property – has held initial discussions with a handful of developers over a sale of the prime redevelopment site.
The barracks has been home to the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, which is responsible for Trooping the Colour and providing the Queen’s escort, since 1795 and has long been earmarked for a sale.
Plans for the six-acre site are residential-led, including a 33-storey tower, with commercial elements.
Prospective developers would be expected to fund the rehousing of several hundred military personnel that currently occupy the barracks.
A previous attempt to sell the site in 2012, handled by CBRE, ran aground after the DIO failed to agree an acceptable solution.
However, the increase in prime residential prices in the intervening years has prompted the government to reconsider whether a redevelopment, including the relocation of the barracks, might now be viable.
A source said: “There has been a flurry of activity from developers who now think luxury housing in prime London is worth enough to justify not just a stellar cost for the site, but the relocation costs too. There are credible plans on the table for the first time, which has prompted the DIO to act.”
According to Knight Frank, prime central London residential development land has risen in value by an average of 13% per year since 2012.
