Stanhope and Mitsui Fudosan (SMBL) have signed their long-awaited development agreement to build a circa £1 bn (€1.14 bn) extension to London’s British Library building with associated commercial space, at Kings Cross.
The development will be built on 1.1 ha (2.8 acres) north of the Library’s existing St Pancras listed building, immediately next to the new biomedical Francis Crick Institute and part of an area of London’s capital dubbed the Knowledge Quarter.
The project involves building on land that was used to build the Francis Crick Institute and currently includes parking and storage.
The cost of providing 93,000 m2 (100,000 sq ft) of new learning, business and exhibition spaces for the British Library will be partly paid for by developing ‘extensive commercial space for organisations and companies seeking to locate in the heart of the Knowledge Quarter’, the parties said today.
It has previously been reported that the developers will deliver around 65,000 m2 of commercial space.
The British Library Conservation Centre, Sound Archive and loading bay are currently on the site, and will all be relocated as part of the overall development.
The development is conditional on accommodating infrastructure required for Crossrail 2 and getting planning consent. The SMBL Developments consortium is working with architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (RSHP) and engineers Arup.
Roly Keating, chief executive of the British Library said: “We are delighted to have signed this landmark agreement with our partners, as we take a leading role in expanding the UK’s dynamic knowledge economy.
‘This project ensures we continue to grow as an open, creative and innovative institution at the heart of the Knowledge Quarter, in service to our growing public audiences in London, the rest of the UK and around the world.’
