April 2010 Archives

The Evening Standard today reports on something that this Blog has talked about on several occasions that will have significant implications for he development of the Olympic site post Games.
I've written before that a Conservative government would likely give City Hall a controlling stake in the Olympic Park Legacy Company, which is currently run jointly by the Mayor and Government.

The Standard however goes a bit further after "learning" what the Tories are cooking up. It writes: "Under the proposals, the Mayor would set up a development corporation and be given planning powers to decide on the site's future."

There is some talk at the moment that Newham Council is putting a lot of effort into reviewing potential development plans for West Ham's Boleyn Ground at Upton Park in anticipation that the team will move up the road to the Olympic Park stadium in Stratford.
There are certainly plenty of property professionals I am speaking to already looking at what type of scheme would be most viable on the site.

A good piece by Matthew Beard in the Standard today on how City Hall has joined a bid  to host the 2014 hockey world cup in London as part of a long-term plan to use the Olympic venues for major sports events.
Matthew writes that a formal bid is due shortly from the British hockey federation in a deal backed by government agency UK Sport and the GLA.
It would be held at the Eton Manor hockey centre in the north of the Olympic Park which can seat up to 15,000 spectators and which will be used for Paralympic archery in 2012 and then converted for hockey and tennis.

I've just published a story on EGi News revealing that John McCready has further bolstered the government's newly formed property unit by recruiting former Land Securities and Portman Estate director John Tauwhare. This does have an Olympics development related element, so bear with me.

A quick note to say that Whitbread this morning confirmed it had secured the lease for a 267-bed Premier Inn hotel at Westfield's Stratford City development at the London 2012 Olympics Park.

Should the government's Olympic contingency budget emerge several million pound in the black one fine day it's clear there will be many people who feel they are entitled to a slice.

It was therefore impressive to see Alex Salmond, Scottish First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party, getting his claim in early yesterday.

Things are looking better and better for the Olympic Park Legacy Company as it seeks a winning legacy tenant for the Olympic Stadium post-Games.
Essex County Cricket club confirmed yesterday that it was considering a joint bid with West Ham and Newham Council to turn the Olympics stadium in Stratford into a multi-sport venue for football, cricket and athletics.
The club would continue to play County Championship matches at its Chelmsford ground but would use the stadium as a 'festival ground' for Twenty20 matches.

The hoo-hah that is growing around Tory shadow London minister Justine Greening's appearance on LBC radio this morning must send a tiny shiver through the collective spine of all those working on the Olympics-inspired regeneration in east London.

It appears that the Tory Party's apparent commitment to the £16bn Crossrail scheme - seen by so many as vital to regeneration and renaissance in London - is questionable, to say the least.

Yesterday Australian developer Lend Lease and London & Continental Railways formally signed off their agreement to bring forward a 100-acre, office-led development at the Olympics site in Stratford, E15.
In an announcement to the Australian stock market Lend Lease this morning said: "Lend Lease today advised it has now signed a conditional framework agreement with LCR for the next stage of the Stratford City regeneration project."
The deal, revealed by this blog two weeks ago, is the culmination of three years of talks and means that the Olympic Delivery Authority and LCR have accepted terms that will see Lend Lease take an equity stake in the £2bn project, also known as Stage Two.
The project involves the construction of more than 6m sq ft of space comprising mainly offices along with shops, leisure and some residential.

Just to say I've written a story in this weekend's Estates Gazette about Westfield appointing Cushman & Wakefield and CB Richard Ellis as its agents for 1.1m sq ft of office development above and around its Stratford City shopping centre at the Olympic Park.
It's a significant amount of offices by any yardstick, but more so when you consider that Lend Lease and London & Continental Railways have just agreed terms to build as much as 5m sq ft of offices on the neighbouring site.

There's a good story by Joey at Building on the deal London & Continental Railways and Lend Lease are signing for the stage two land at Stratford City this morning.

The London Development Agency has made sure it got one important item of business out of the way before General Election Purdah I am told, and just in the nick of time too.
At a Board meeting last Thursday it voted unanimously to accept the proposed deal to transfer its Olympics land in east London to the Olympic Park Legacy Company.
It's pretty upbeat about the whole thing too.

The Australian press has picked up on last week's news - revealed by this blog - that London & Continental Railways and Lend Lease have reached agreement on a joint venture development partnership for the 100 acres or so of remaining land at the Stratford City site next to the Olympics Park.

While none of the parties can talk about the terms of the equity deal until it is legally finalised within the next week, the Sydney Morning Herald's description of a £2bn project comprising as much as 6m sq ft of commercial, principally offices, sounds about right from I am hearing.

Something exclusive to do with the Olympics that is highly significant that I'm about to break on the EGi web site.
London & Continental Railways and Lend Lease have reached agreement on the all-important deal that will enable them to create a 50:50 joint venture partnership to bring forward a major office-led development of 130 acres at the Olympics site in Stratford, east London.
LCR selected Lend Lease for the project, which also included the Athletes Village, back in 2007.
Subsequently however the credit crunch saw Lend Lease offer a £375m financing package to take an equity stake in the first phase of the development - the 2,800-home athletes village - that government decided was "not in the best interests of the taxpayer".

There has been plenty of coverage of Anish Kapoor's Arcelormittal Orbit tower, most of it wryly positive.
The Daily Star has picked up on Boris's use of the words "nuts" to describe it and elsewhere it is described variously as a "mutant trombone", a "tangled tower", a "trap with no bite" and an "Olympian Obelisk". Others have suggested that it is an April Fool's Day joke a day early.

Thanks to Duncan for raising issues over its impact on London City Airport radar use - I'm sure this has been taken into account (we hope!).