Borough Yards

borough_yards
Project box

Geographical area: Europe

Location: London, United Kingdom

City size: XL (above 5,000,000 inhabitants)

Promoter: MARK and Network Rail

Developer: MARK

Start year:

End-year:

Implementation phase: Completed

Project size: Block

Total area of intervention (in sqm): 18.000

Total investments (in USD): 380 million

Project overview

The Borough Yards project aims to renovate and revitalize the historical medieval streets and the Victorian railway viaducts located on the South Bank of London, close to the famous Borough Market. The site historically hosted only warehouses and a few retail spaces, with the main activity held by the firm Vinopolis. Those activities shuttled down in 2015 leaving the area mostly unused. The local communities and the residents were experiencing a lack of services such as stores, leisure and recreational areas and open spaces. The objective of the regeneration project was to refurbish the abandoned and underused historical area and create a new retail district while improving the attractiveness of the entire neighborhood by providing commercial and leisure activities open also to citizens living in the surrounding area. The renovation project focused on re-functionalizing and renovating the spaces below the existent arches of the railway structures, refurbishing the existing buildings and restoring the streets crossing the area with special attention to pedestrian needs. The project started in 2016 when the real estate investment firm MARK acquired from Vinopolis the leasehold of the Borough Yards buildings, whereas the land is owned by Network Rail, the public company managing the England railway infrastructure. After the acquisition, MARK started to privately fund the renovation project after receiving the planning permissions from the Southwark Council. The renovation works focus on an area of 18,000 sqm. The project ended in 2022, with the opening of the new shops and offices in the newly built units. The renovation project brough significant economic and social benefits to the area, with the creation of more than 1,000 new jobs through retail stores and offices, as well as providing residents with a renovated commercial and leisure area. This strongly helped local businesses to expand their commercial activities by providing them with a vivid and renovated area. The project also had a positive underlying environmental effect given by the reuse of existing and abandoned buildings. The repurpose of the abandoned arches avoided the construction of new commercial units on another site, thus saving land for other purposes and fully exploiting already existent and abandoned areas.

By employing the existing railway arch's structure, the project created 50 commercial units hosting retail stores, food & drink shops, leisure brands and galleries serving the neighboring area, and areas dedicated to events and recreational activities. The commercial spaces are divided between units hosting shops and retail stores, and units hosting food and beverages activities. The recreational area is mainly composed of the Everyman Cinema and “Unit 221” which is allocated to host cultural events, exhibitions and temporary galleries and museums.

Benefits

The Borough Yards renovation project aimed to revitalize an underserved area in the center of London. The redevelopment of the area brought a significant positive impact on both employment and businesses, by significantly increasing the attractiveness of the area. The redevelopment initiative has brought businesses to relocate their stores in the new buildings which led to the creation of a lively commercial and leisure district. The allocation of spaces for retail and offices helped to create around 1,100 new job opportunities in the area. Both the construction phase and the end-user phase created more than 100 new employees through local recruiting, apprenticeship and training. In addition, the renovated site fostered the local economic development of the area, as it serves the many tourists crossing and visiting the central neighborhood where Borough Yards is located.

The project focused on circularity as the urban project renovated and reused existing spaces and buildings by adapting the area to the market and commercial necessities of local businesses. The regeneration of the abandoned railways spaces avoided the construction of new buildings and saved land for other potential purposes. In addition, built structures were equipped with biodiverse roofs as well as structural features to support nesting and roosting for birds, fostering urban resilience and the urban ecosystems.

The renovation project helped to provide access to commercial and leisure spaces for the residents, aiming to improve social equity and inclusiveness among the residents of the surrounding neighborhoods by opening a renovated commercial area to serve the neighborhood.

The Borough Yards project is targeting the BREEAM certifications for the new office building and for the refurbished existing arches of the railway structure, but there is no information on whether the certification has been already achieved.

Finance model

The project had been funded completely with private resources from MARK, a private equity real estate investment firm owning the leasehold of the redevelopment site.

The renovation project has been funded entirely by MARK through equity resources, private funding and private investments. An important source of funding was acquired by signing pre-lease agreements with future commercial and tertiary activities aimed at assuring the acquisition of spaces in the area. The main contractors are Everyman Cinema and The Office Group.

References and Credits

Borough Yards official website. Accessed on 05/03/2024. Available here.

MIPIM Awards 2022 Winner. Best Urban Project. Accessed on 05/03/2024. Available here.

SPPARC. Borough Yards Project.  Accessed on 05/03/2024. Available here.

Mark. Borough Yards Project.  Accessed on 05/03/2024. Available here.

Real PM. Borough Yards Project.  Accessed on 05/03/2024. Available here.

Wates Group. Borough Yards Project.  Accessed on 05/03/2024. Available here.

MARK (2017). Meyer Bergman Launches Leasing of £300 Million Borough Yards Project at London Bridge by Signing Everyman Cinema and The Office Group. Accessed on 05/03/2024. Available here.

Schuco (2022). Rejuvenation of heritage buildings breathes new life into forgotten corner of London. Accessed on 05/03/2024. Available here.

Southwark Council (2021). The London Borough of Southwark’s Licensing Sub-committee. Appendix G – Applicants presentation. Available here.

Image from Borough Yards, retrieved here.