THREE major new developments in the West End with a combined value of
more than £400 million are coming from the Crown Estate, as demand for state-of-the art office space transforms the heart of the capital.
New Zealand House on Haymarket, one of central London’s 1960s tower blocks, will be the first to get a refresh.
The landmark is between Victorian-era theatreland and Pall Mall’s terraces
designed by John Nash.
The overhaul will result in 138,000 square feet of office and hospitality
facilities with views of the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, as
well as Piccadilly Circus.
New Zealand House was the first multi-storey building of its kind to be
built in central London after the war and the building has a Grade II listing.
Its top floor has views of Buckingham Palace.
The Crown Estate, one of London’s biggest landlords, will also update 33 to
35 Piccadilly and 10 Spring Gardens just off the Mall. Around 250,000
square feet of office leisure and retail space will be created in total across the
three projects worth a combined £430 million. Together, they are the first part of a planned series of schemes to renew central London.
It comes amid a post-pandemic trend for companies to locate in areas with
strong cultural and leisure attractions, which are more likely to draw staff back into the workplace, burnishing the appeal of offices in the West End.
The wider market for property in the capital has been roiled by the changes
set off by Covid and the sudden boom in remote and then hybrid working.
Traditional, large-scale office developments are not changing hands.
