London’s Elephant & Castle shopping centre has been purchased by developer Delancey for a sum of £80 million.
The firm intends to transform the 1960s concrete mall as part of its South Village scheme, with the property, once described as an architectural blunder, set to become a central aspect of the three tower development.
In total, the 3.5 acre site will bring 262 homes to the area as well as a block of student accommodation. In addition, there are plans to create a four screen cinema and a large Sainsbury’s supermarket.
Delancey chief executive and founder, Jamie Ritblat, believes his firm will help to bring further prosperity to the area.
He says; “Combining an exceptionally well connected Zone 1 location with Zone 3 pricing, we look forward to delivering much needed new homes for Londoners.”
The shopping centre was originally built on a bomb site following the Second World War and opened in 1965 with a view to becoming Europe’s first American style enclosed shopping mall. However, it has always suffered from a poor image from an architectural point of view – a fact which was not helped by famously being painted bright pink, which previous owners believed would make it “less depressing.”
Deputy Mayor for Planning in London, Sir Edward Lister, believes schemes of this sort play an important part in allowing London to grow.
He says; “Elephant and Castle is the southern gateway to central London and this agreement gives more impetus to our plans to transform the area and deliver 5,000 new homes, around a third of which will be affordable.
“London is growing at a rate never seen before and initiatives such as this are vital if we are to keep pace with our growing population and secure our status as the best big city on the planet.”
Delancey is no stranger to high profile projects, given that the firm was heavily involved in the transformation of the Olympic Park’s Athletes Village into a residential block known as East Village. With tenants beginning to move into the Olympic Park scheme this week, the developer will certainly be optimistic that it can successfully turn one of London’s most notorious buildings into a desirable and affordable residential area.
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