Mixed use Camley Street redevelopment to include 350 homes

Camden council has launched a procurement process to find a development partner for a £500m mixed-use scheme in London’s Knowledge Quarter around Kings Cross.

The Camley Street redevelopment will includes 350 homes, of which 170 will be affordable, plus 200,000 sq ft of commercial space which the scheme’s designers Stirling Prize-winning architect Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, said will make it the largest life sciences project in the area’s expanding commercial district.

Camley Street London N1C Illustrative scheme showing proposed uses across the two sites (Credit FCBStudios)

Source: FCBS

The scheme will span two sites either side of a railway line near King’s Cross station

Spanning 3.56 acres, it will be set across two council owned sites at 120 - 136 Camley Street and 3 -30 Cedar Way, either side of the railway leading into St Pancras station.

Camden said it was looking for a developer able to work up detailed plans with the council for both sites, before taking on ownership of the Cedar Way site on a 250-year leasehold basis and delivering the commercial space, private housing and affordable units there. Camden said it will retain the Camley Street site and deliver the affordable housing and commercial space there directly.

The office space will be geared towards the life sciences, technology and digital industries.

the schemewill join a cluster of major healthcare and bioscience schemes in the area, including Precis Group’s £150m Merck life sciences centre opposite King’s Cross station, which is being built by Mace, the £400m RSHP-designed British Library extension, which received planning approval in January, and the £250m Moorfields eye hospital, which was won by Bouygues last year.

Camden council said it is looking for a development partner with a proven track record for “delivering high quality, commercial-led schemes targeting the knowledge economy”.

Camden’s director of development Neil Vokes said: “Rarely does an opportunity as significant as Camley Street come to market in central London. 

“The potential exists for a key site with scale and connectivity, to write a new chapter in the history of Camley Street that sets the standard for social value, active sustainability and lasting ideas. 

“This is best done in partnership with a developer prepared to align to the values we attach to our stewardship of places, people and development.”

Proposals for the two sites have been worked up over the past three years with a project team including procurement consultant JLL and architects Studio Woodroffe Papa and Architecture 00.

Interested bidders have until June 27 to submit a questionnaire.

The scheme is part of the council’s £2.3bn plan to build nearly 5,000 homes in Camden, including a large quantity of affordable homes and new community facilities.