The Portman Estate has completed a deal to unlock a £150m mixed-use redevelopment of the former Marylebone Police ?Station, W1.
The West End freeholder this week signed a deal to take full control of the 70,000 sq ft vacant office block at .
As part of the mayor of ?London’s Office for Policing and Crime’s plan to save £60m in running costs during 2013-16, the police, advised by Knight Frank, agreed to sell the long leasehold for the property.
A mixture of offices as well as luxury and affordable housing is now being considered for the building.
Community use is expected on the ground floor to comply with Westminster council’s planning requirements.
Market sources said that, based on average current residential values of £1,380 per sq ft and office rents of £100 per sq ft, a redevelopment could deliver a £150m scheme.
Bill Moore, chief executive of the Portman Estate, said: “This is a strategically important site, close to the Portman Village and Oxford Street, and we are going to work closely with Westminster city council and community partners on proposals.”
Jane Bond, director of property services for the Metropolitan Police, said: “We have now disposed of 113 older and under-occupied buildings and have been able to reinvest the significant financial savings made back into policing.”
The area is becoming an increasingly popular office-to-residential hotspot, with Royalton Group this week buying the former BBC office at 35 Marylebone High Street for a housing conversion. It paid £15m above the £60m guide price.
Knight Frank said sales in the £10m-plus bracket in Marylebone had traditionally been scarce, but added that several deals in 2013 and an emerging pipeline of developments showed the area was moving into London’s luxury league.
joanna.bourke@estatesgazette.com
