Flatpack furniture giant Ikea has spent £25 million on a 26 acre plot of land in East London with plans to construct 480,000 sq. ft. of office space.
The Scandinavian company has revealed plans to assemble a ‘flat pack city’ as part of its first British property development. The new suburb, which is called the ‘Strand East’ project situated in Stratford, will include 1,200 homes, a 350 bedroom hotel, and retail and office space.
Ikea are claiming it will be a ‘mini-Venice’ due to the fact that the development is located alongside a canal, the Olympic Park and will include a floating cocktail bar.
The whole site is proposed to be environmentally friendly; to be connected via pedestrianised walkways with moorings and boats being used for transport and taxi services. Cars are said to be parked underground and a water power plant will provide energy requirements and remove rubbish.
London Mayor Boris Johnson said: “This is yet another great example of the 2012 legacy rippling out of the Olympic Park and across east London.”
A planning application to build the new site is due to be submitted in early 2012 and LandProp, Ikea’s development arm, is responsible for the new scheme and move into the property market.
Harald Muller, Managing Director, described the site as “the newest and most interesting development in the whole area.”
The project comes after reports that city office space demand, like London serviced offices, is static and that the total office space leased in the capital’s financial hub has slowed.
However, reports show that there has been a surge in the East central London area as opposed to West end office space which industry experts claim to be because there is more compact office spaces available, as well as relatively low rental prices on offer.
Tags: East London, Ikea, London office space