Tweet

Developer LCR has appointed construction services company ISG as lead contractor on its £200 million retail, leisure and cultural development at Waterloo.

The £40+ million contract will see ISG transform up to 135,000 sq ft of space at the former Waterloo International Eurostar Terminal into a major new retail and leisure destination in central London.

Forty new glass-fronted units will be created across three floors, including a new mezzanine level, and will sit below the existing platforms.

The scheme forms part of the wider redevelopment of Waterloo Station, where Network Rail is increasing capacity by bringing five former Eurostar platforms back into use for suburban trains, enabling more services to run from the station, whilst LCR’s retail project will create new entrances towards the South Bank to accommodate the station’s growing passenger numbers.

Duko Frankhuizen, development manager at LCR, said: “This development will create a major new mixed-use retail and social space on the South Bank that reflects the independent and creative spirit of Waterloo. Our vision is for a destination that is progressive and unique to this part of London, with a vibrant mix of independent and high street stores, complemented by an exciting food and drink offer.

“Waterloo is the UK’s busiest station serving over 100 million passengers each year. With ISG onboard the development will give the former Eurostar terminal, which has been out of use for almost a decade, a new lease of life as part of a vibrant new shopping, cultural and leisure destination for Waterloo and the South Bank.”

Steven McGee, managing director of ISG’s Construction South business, commented: “Securing this transformational project at Waterloo marks a significant milestone for ISG, as we approach eleven years since we delivered a project in excess of £90 million to fit out St Pancras Station, which included the new London terminus for Eurostar, retail and hospitality space and back of house facilities.

“This exciting redevelopment of Waterloo Station, the original home of Eurostar, utilises our knowledge and expertise delivering complex, live environment schemes within international transport hubs, alongside our credentials as the UK’s largest retail contractor – most recently completing the new Icon outlet centre at The O2. We understand the importance of this scheme for one of London’s busiest stations and its passengers, but also within the wider South Bank context, providing a high-quality retail destination that signals the next chapter in Waterloo Station’s development.”

Work will begin onsite in April 2019, with completion expected in early 2021. The scheme is anticipated to create around 700 full-time equivalent jobs.

The wider project team includes Arcadis as project managers, contract administrators and structural engineers; Corstorphine + Wright as architects and lead designers; QODA as services engineers; and RPS as cost managers.

The development sits adjacent to the first phase of LCR’s Waterloo masterplan, the regeneration of Leake Street Arches, where LCR has created a vibrant creative and leisure destination including bars and a music venue, soon to be complemented by a microbrewery. Featuring one of the UK’s only legal graffiti walls, the scheme has breathed new life into the network of street tunnels underneath Waterloo station, while preserving its longstanding reputation as an important destination for graffiti and street art. The Waterloo masterplan is being delivered in collaboration with the Department for Transport and Network Rail.

LCR is a property and regeneration company with a 20-year track record of creating new homes, jobs and economic growth from railway assets, and is UK Government-owned. Its previous schemes include the multi-billion-pound mixed-use developments at King’s Cross and Stratford City – two of London’s most successful regeneration stories.