Edge and Mitsubishi Estate London have secured planning consent for the refurbishment of 125 Shaftesbury Avenue in Central London.
The refurbishment, which is designed by DSDHA, will transform the existing 1980s structure into a 250,000 sq ft modern office building called EDGE Shaftesbury. Located on a 1.2-acre freehold site just south of Tottenham Court Road station, the site was previously home to companies including BT, Yahoo, Meta and WeWork.
Approximately 75% of the existing structure will be retained, significantly reducing the scheme’s embodied carbon, and the scheme will also incorporate green roofs and biodiversity-enhancing planting and will repurpose materials wherever possible.
Fons van Dorst, managing director UK at Edge, said: “We’re pleased to have received planning permission for our innovative scheme EDGE Shaftesbury. This project is an important milestone in our London portfolio and will create a high-quality, sustainable office building in a central West End location. We’re looking forward to working with Mitsubishi Estate London to deliver a building that supports modern ways of working and adds real value to the local area.”
Shinichi Kagitomi, chief executive of Mitsubishi Estate London, added: “It is well established that the west end office market is currently chronically under-supplied. This approval will be welcomed by the occupier community, and we are looking forward to delivering much-needed new office space – and a major rejuvenation of an existing building – right in the heart of the west end.”
Deborah Saunt, founding director of DSDHA, said: “Our extensive retrofit of 125 Shaftesbury Avenue will be an exemplary model of both sustainable refurbishment and socially and historically responsive architecture, and one that both responds to and enhances its unique context. A distinctive, permeable and inviting public realm is integral to our ambition for the site, and it will strongly support and connect to Camden Council’s wider biodiversity initiatives and network of new pedestrian routes, as well as providing extensive external amenity for tenants.”
