St Modwen and Rotch have been granted outline planning approval for the £40m regeneration of the 146,000 sq ft (13,563 sq m) Wembley Central Square shopping centre in north London.
Sowcrest, a 50/50 joint venture between St Modwen and Rotch, intends to develop 110,000 sq ft (10,219 sq m) of retail and leisure and 170,000 sq ft (15,793 sq m) of flats on the site of the 1960s shopping centre which is located above Wembley Central rail and tube stations.
The jv also wants to convert a vacant office block into a 150-bedroom hotel and acquire shops on Wembley High Street to create a new public square.
A full planning application will be submitted for the scheme early next year.
Colin McQueston, asset manager at St Modwen, said: “This is an exciting new milestone in the regeneration of Wembley town centre.
“We already have a lot of interest in the project from new retailers eager to open in the area, from existing retailers who would be relocated and from hotel operators.
“We are anxious to build on this momentum to deliver this important regeneration project as soon as possible.”
St Modwen recently purchased the Elephant & Castle shopping centre in South London from UK Land and now holds, either outright or through joint ventures, 14 shopping centres throughout the country, of which six are in the Greater London area.
EGi News 07/08/02
