Camden Council has granted permission to retrofit vacant shops on the ground floor of the Grade II listed Victoria House in Bloomsbury, WC1, into flexible lab-enabled workspaces.
The renewed vision for the 300,000 sq ft building comes after it had changed hands early last year from LabTech, owned by Israeli businessman Teddy Sagi, to Oxford Properties in a £430m deal.
Located within the heart of London’s Knowledge Quarter, Victoria House was refurbished by the former landlord prior to the sale. The building also secured approval to be transformed into a centre for life sciences in November 2022.
The updated proposals, lodged by Gerald Eve in March this year, focus on 40,000 sq ft of space across four shops and a former bank branch.
Under the plan, Oxford Properties, in partnership with Pioneer Group, is set to create lab-enabled consultation rooms in the basement alongside a new mediation room with associated prep area.
Meanwhile, the lower-ground floor will feature reception and collaboration areas, alongside meeting rooms, lab-enabled and write-up areas. The upper-ground floor is proposed to be turned into lab-enabled workspace.
Finally, the mezzanine will provide meeting rooms, write-up and welfare facilities. A new access to the main building will also be created.
The project, designed by Corstorphine & Wright, is expected to help address the shortfall in flexible lab-enabled space as well as add to the life sciences ecosystem within Victoria House.
The redevelopment is scheduled to begin in mid-August with completion expected in 2024.
To send feedback, e-mail evelina.grecenko@eg.co.uk or tweet @Gre_Eve or @EGPropertyNews
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