The UK’s leading property company, Land Securities, has promised that its flagship Victoria development will be ‘a real mixed use scheme’ catering to the ‘growing needs of office workers’ – and food is at the heart of it.
Nova will provide 726,000 sq ft of retail, residential and office space on a site opposite Victoria Station. The bulk of the space – 480,000 sq ft – will be office accommodation, but Land Securities stresses that ‘placemaking’ will be the key to the success of the development.
What they hope to create is a location that is not only a vibrant commercial district during the day, but one that will be also be an exciting evening destination providing the best in food and drink that London has to offer.
Writing in the company’s corporate blog, London managing director Colette O’Shea says that the capital’s food scene is changing, with pop-up restaurants and authentic street food pushing the boundaries of the traditional dining experience.
With Londoner’s eating out an average of four times a week, and today’s office workers expecting a greater choice at lunchtime, Nova will provide a range of dining options. These will include everything from street vendors and grab-and-go outlets, to specialist restaurants offering ‘farm to fork provenance.’
“Property is about far more than the four walls within which we live, eat or work,” O’Shea says.
“It has the potential to transform our everyday experiences – great environments are conducive to great experiences and the buildings we create contribute to the creativity of the people, restaurants or businesses within them.
The first phase of Land Securities’ £2 billion Nova scheme, a joint venture with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, is due to be completed in 2016.
