Greystar secures planning consent to enhance rental-housing led regeneration of Factory in London
- Southwark Council has approved Greystar’s enhanced planning application, which will deliver new purpose-designed rental housing.
- This includes the delivery of an additional 88 homes, bringing the total to 1,624 high-quality new homes in a critically undersupplied area, as well as increased provision of affordable housing.
- Greystar acquired the prominent London scheme from Grosvenor in September 2022.
- The new school building for Charter School Bermondsey was completed in January 2024, which has enabled on-site works to commence.
London, 6 March 2024 – Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC (“Greystar”), a global leader in the investment, development, and management of high-quality rental housing, has secured planning approval from Southwark Council for amendments to its build-to-rent development located at the former Peek Freans biscuit factory site in Bermondsey, South London.
The amendments build on the established design principles of the scheme, as carried out by KPF on behalf of Grosvenor, and provide enhancements that will increase the development’s longevity for the benefit of the wider area. This includes the delivery of an additional 88 homes, bringing the total to 1,624 high-quality new homes in a critically undersupplied area, as well as increasing the amount of homes for social rent.
The site will create a new community in the heart of Zone 2 in London incorporating new homes for a range of rents, a new secondary school, play areas, cultural and retail spaces, interwoven into the existing neighbourhood – and all in close proximity to excellent transport links. Greystar is committed to working with local businesses, residents and community groups to ensure the benefits of the development are realised for the wider area, including driving footfall to the existing town centre and providing training and employment opportunities.
Greystar’s proposals followed extensive consultations with community stakeholders, and include the provision of increased affordable housing, the addition of second staircases in buildings, improvements to safety and security throughout the site, and updated building and unit layouts to comply with latest regulations. It will also deliver enhanced public spaces, including a 115% increase in play areas and 75 additional trees, to create a well-managed, sustainable and inclusive space for community interaction.
Dan Thompson, Managing Director - Development, Greystar: “Our scheme in Bermondsey has been purpose-designed with renters in mind, leveraging our 30 years of experience providing high-quality homes for occupiers around the world. London in particular is facing an acute shortage of homes, and by delivering new, purpose-built rental homes in town centre locations, we can help to alleviate this pressure while putting disused, brownfield land to use as much-needed new housing stock. This is a significant milestone for our development at the historic biscuit factory, which promises to deliver a thriving new community in the heart of the UK’s capital city.”
The initial plans for the Bermondsey Biscuit Factory site were approved by the GLA in February 2020 and designated that the site would be entirely BTR. After acquiring the site in September 2022, Greystar have already commenced works on-site, unlocking a key strategic location in one of London’s town centres.
As the first vertically integrated build to rent platform in Europe, the site will be professionally managed by Greystar once complete, with residents benefiting from access to unparalleled amenities tailored to their needs, and the high standard of customer service delivered by Greystar’s on-site teams.
Greystar appointed HTA as the masterplan and landscape architect, and the buildings have been designed by a combination of HTA, Hawkins Brown and Arney Fender Katsalidis.
Enquiries.
FGS Global
Gordon Simpson / James Gray / Ellen Donald
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About Greystar.
Greystar is a leading, fully integrated global real estate company offering expertise in property management, investment management, development, and construction services in institutional-quality rental housing, logistics, and life sciences sectors. Headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, Greystar manages and operates more than $290 billion of real estate in 247 markets globally with offices throughout North America, Europe, South America, and the Asia-Pacific region. Greystar is the largest operator of apartments in the United States, manages more than 857,400 units/beds globally, and has a robust institutional investment management platform comprised of more than $76 billion of assets under management, including over $34 billion of development assets. Greystar was founded by Bob Faith in 1993 to become a provider of world-class service in the rental residential real estate business. To learn more, visit www.greystar.com.