Nick Shattock, development director of Quintain Estates & Development, this week said that he is keen to see high density and tall buildings as the basis for a 4m sq ft Wembley regeneration scheme.
Three months after Quintain and consortium partners Lend Lease and Anschutz won the competition to develop land next to the Millennium Dome in Greenwich, Shattock has secured the site adjoining another London landmark at Wembley.
Last week Quintain exchanged contracts on the £48m purchase of Wembley (London), which owns 44 acres (18ha) next to Wembley Stadium in north London.
The deals give Quintain a stake in 234 acres of strategic development land in London.
A former City lawyer, Shattock, 42, said he was “cock-a-hoop” at scooping two of the highest profile sites in London.
He told Estates Gazette: “I first went to speak to Wembley plc in January to look at the possibilities of creating a destination like the Dome.
“In April, we said we would buy the land without planning permission and unconditional of the future of the stadium, and I think that clinched it.”
Shattock is confident that the site – which is zoned as an opportunity area in the London Plan and Brent councils UDP – will be suitable for a 4m sq ft high-density, mixed-use redevelopment with a completed value between £750m and £1bn.
“I see it as a young persons area,” he said. “There will be a significant residential element, probably over 2,000 homes, along with offices and leisure.
“There will be an expansion of the existing conference and exhibition facilities and Wembley Arena.”
Quintain will continue to run the profitable Wembley Arena business, which turns over more than £1m pa.
Shattock hopes that the conference and exhibition centre will benefit from increased business during the period between London Arena closing next year and Anschutz Entertainment Groups Dome opening in 2004.
Quintains Dome partner, US entertainment operator Anschutz, is confident that the schemes will not take business away from each other.
“We are already working with Quintain on the Dome Arena project and are happy that the Wembley Arena is in safe hands. We see the two venues as complementary to one other,” said Detlef Kornett, managing director of Anschutz.
Quintain is not yet talking to development partners, but Shattock did not rule out selling parcels of land to developers once planning had been agreed.
“Mixed-use development suits our skills. We can bring experience of all sectors, but we may look for a joint venture partner, or sell land.”
Shattock denied that the firms involvement at the Dome had any bearing on its success at Wembley.
“We did not have any discussions with the government about Wembley,” he said, adding that Quintain is not involved with the stadium plans. “We want to see the stadium happen and we are confident it will go ahead.”
Providing the Foster proposals for Wembley Stadium get the nod later this month, Shattock said: “There is tremendous scope to exploit the sites topography to increase densities.”
EGi News 19/08/02
