Transport for London has signed a pre-let to occupy a building in International Quarter as part of the second stage of the £2.1 billion development at Stratford, reports Lend Lease.
TfL has pre-let the entirety of the office space within the 265,000 sq ft building, with construction starting this summer. Detailed planning consent has been secured for the building – offering a glimpse of London’s newest commercial district.
An estimated 3,000 TfL workers will relocate to the International Quarter’s new generation of offices and, once completed, an estimated 25,000 people will work at and visit the site each day.
Lend Lease and LCR are in discussions with a number of other major tenants about moving to The International Quarter – which, at a total of four million square feet, will be one of the largest new commercial developments in London.
The designs have been led by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Vogt Landscape Architects who have been appointed to the major office scheme to work alongside the existing panel of architects. The office will set a new benchmark in commercial accommodation, designed to inspire employees, improve productivity and encourage health and wellbeing in a truly sustainable workplace.
Located at the gateway to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, work is already well underway on the first phase of The International Quarter, a 333-unit residential development named Glasshouse Gardens – overlooking the Aquatics Centre, the former Olympic Stadium and ArcelorMittal Orbit.
Announcing the commercial leasing agreements, Dan Labbad, Chief Executive Officer, International Operations at Lend Lease, said: “Securing TfL for this major pre-let marks the emergence of a new generation of offices in London that will make a lasting contribution to the local economy. Our ambition is to create the most agile, healthy and efficient workplaces.”
David Joy, Chief Executive at LCR, said: “We are pleased to have reached this pivotal milestone for one of the largest and most significant mixed-use developments in the UK. The International Quarter will be a major new employment hub in East London, creating more than 25,000 jobs in total, and we have been working closely with Lend Lease to make this happen. Securing the first commercial tenant is a testament to the exceptional commercial environment we are delivering as part of the scheme and can only serve as a catalyst to attract further major employers to the area.”
Ivan Harbour, Senior Partner and Lead Designer, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, said: “We are delighted to be working on The International Quarter, which we hope will become a global example of best practice in the development of a new workplace environment. Our tailored approach to the building design creates efficiency, continuity and coherency across the site whilst offering bespoke solutions to meet the specific needs of occupiers. This, together with a similarly coherent ground plane, characterises the neighbourhood as a core piece of the emerging City quarter, whilst the focus on daylight, views, connectivity, community spaces and public realm produces truly cutting-edge workplaces with people at their heart.”
Steve Allen, Managing Director of Finance at TfL, said: “We are consolidating our office accommodation into a smaller number of larger buildings. The International Quarter in Stratford provides the ideal opportunity for us to make further progress with its excellent transport links while enabling us to achieve significant savings.”
The International Quarter is a central pillar in the regeneration of Stratford, providing the new commercial element and jobs to the area’s role as an important sporting, retail, cultural and academic destination. Stratford’s recently-announced Olympicopolis will be home to internationally renowned institutions including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Sadler’s Wells, the Smithsonian Institution, University College London (UCL) and the University of the Arts London (UAL).
The International Quarter is a central pillar in the regeneration of Stratford, providing the new commercial element and jobs to the area’s role as an important sporting, retail, cultural and academic destination. Stratford’s recently-announced Olympicopolis will be home to internationally renowned institutions including the Victoria and Albert Museum, Sadler’s Wells, the Smithsonian Institution, University College London (UCL) and the University of the Arts London (UAL).
Jones Lang LaSalle and BNP Paribas represented Lend Lease and LCR, and BNP Paribas Corporate represented TfL.