Kings Cross Central Limited Partnership (KCCLP) has secured approval for what it calls the W Zone, featuring three mixed-use buildings off York Way and Randell’s Road.
W1, W2 and W3 will be built around a central podium garden. The site masterplan, developed by David Morley Architects, includes a mixture of residential, across a range of tenures, as well as leisure space, plus a managed ecology garden with a focus on education and community engagement, to be known as the Habitat Zone.
Buildings W1 and W2, which together will have 218 apartments, have been designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and David Morley Architects. W3, designed by Haptic Architects, is primarily for leisure use, with a gym, a nursery and a café.
The W Zone is expected to be completed in 2022.
Building W1 is split into two blocks of 11 storeys and 16 storeys respectively, which will comprise 140 open market residential apartments with a single retail unit at street level, fronting York Way.
Building W2 is an eight-storey mixed tenure building featuring 36 social rented apartments, 23 intermediate apartments and 19 open market apartments. It will also have a retail element with three shops fronting onto York Way.
Building W3 will be 1,500 m2 building over three storeys, using a cross laminated timber (CLT) structure.
The King’s Cross estate is owned by the King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership, which is 67.5% owned by pension fund AustralianSuper with property developer Argent as junior partner. Their £3bn regeneration has resulted in King’s Cross becoming one of London’s creative neighbourhoods, with Google, YouTube and Universal Music among the businesses based there. There are also close to 2,000 apartments on the estate including student rooms.
KCCLP project director Jamie Smith said: “We are thrilled that the entirety of W Zone now has the go ahead and we are excited for works to start on the site next year. More than 10 years on from the start of construction works, we are proud to have finalised the detailed design of one of the final pieces of the King’s Cross puzzle.”
Architect David Morley said: “This is the only site at King’s Cross straddling the boundary between Camden and Islington and we are delighted that our masterplan for bringing together a new mixed-use community, focused around a garden, will soon be realised. As well as connecting east to west, the project will transform the streetscape of York Way and create a new gateway to King’s Cross for people arriving from the north."
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