The Crown Estate has established a joint venture that will see Canadian real estate company, Oxford Properties, take a 50 per cent stake in the £320 million commercial element of its landmark St James’s Market scheme.
The deal establishes a strategic partnership based on two 50:50 limited partnerships that will each own 150 year leasehold interests in two blocks located between London’s Regent Street and Haymarket. The Crown Estate will retain the freehold and take the lead role to develop and asset manage the scheme in line with its strategy for St James’s, where it owns nearly 50 per cent of the buildings.
50,000 sq ft of restaurant and retail space
Paul Clark, Director of Investment and Asset Management said: “St James’s Market will deliver the most ambitious redevelopment in St James’s in the last century and represents a major tipping point for our strategy for the area.”
The scheme forms part of The Crown Estate’s ten year investment strategy for St James’s and, once complete, will provide 210,000 ft2 of prime office and 50,000 ft2 of flagship retail and restaurant space. A run-down back street service yard and taxi ‘rat-run’ will be replaced by a fantastic new amenity for St James’s, revitalising half an acre of public realm and creating a new 10,000 ft2 pedestrian square for world-class business, shopping and dining.
Altamarea’s ‘Chop Shop’ to open in Haymarket
As a sign of the changes to come, the Altamarea Group – the acclaimed New York based restaurateurs – is collaborating with Will Guess (whose family in turn own the acclaimed Rowley’s Restaurant) on a new restaurant.
‘Chop Shop’ will be Altamarea’s first venture in Europe, a vibrant new ‘butcher-shop inspired’ restaurant opening this September on the Haymarket in St James’s.