East Village completed, key London 2012 legacy
All 2,818 homes in the former Olympic Village have been handed over and the sale of the Village to its long-term owners concluded.
The deal, announced in August 2011, to sell the Olympic Delivery Authority’s remaining property interests in East Village has completed, securing a £557m return to Government and the taxpayer from QDD (a joint venture of Qatari Diar and Delancey).
QDD now owns the 1,439 market rental properties, open spaces, and land with the potential for further development on East Village. The deal also provides for future profit share so that the taxpayer benefits from increases in property values.
QDD, operating under the Get Living London brand, will work alongside Triathlon Homes, which is responsible for the 1,379 affordable homes in East Village, and together will be responsible for the long-term management of the Village.
In total the Village has delivered 2,818 much needed one, two, three and four bedroom apartments and townhouses in Stratford, developed by the ODA for use by athletes and officials during the Olympics and Paralympics, and converted into new homes after the Games.
QDD and Triathlon Homes are now in fully in control of East Village, following the completion of the sale of Stratford Village Development Partnership (SVDP), which was established by the ODA in 2008 to promote and secure private sector investment in the Olympic and Paralympic Village.
Details of the work since 2012 to transform the Olympic Village into East Village are given in the ODA’s 2013-14 Annual Report, published in July.
The huge project first saw temporary Games-time features in the Olympic and Paralympic athletes’ accommodation removed and wear and tear repaired. Only then could work begin to fit brand-new designer kitchens, carpets, and hard floors in every property, carry out painting, plumbing and electrical work, and put the finishing touches to the new neighbourhood with parklands, play areas, and wetlands, and infrastructure including roads and bridges.
East Village contractors, led by the ODA’s development manager Lend Lease, also had to complete the 2,000-student Chobham Academy and the Sir Ludwig Guttmann Health and Wellbeing Centre, both serving the wider local area as well as the residents of the new homes. At peak, more than 2,400 workers were on site.
Each and every one of the apartments and townhouses was subject to stringent and complex quality checks before being handed over to the long-term owners of East Village, QDD and Triathlon Homes, whose homes are available for rental and shared ownership. There are now more than 2,500 people living in the new homes and calling East Village home.
Writing in the ODA’s Annual Report and Accounts, Gerry Murphy, its Chief Operating Officer, said:
“This has been a unique challenge, with so many different strands of work running in parallel, and within an extraordinarily short period of time for such a huge programme of work.”
The ODA’s Chairman, Sir John Armitt, said in his foreword:
“This has been a demanding year for the Olympic Delivery Authority, striving to complete its critical final tasks and so leave behind a further long-term legacy from London 2012.”
The Annual Report provides facts, figures and photographs about the work on East Village, as well as showcasing the current legacy use of London 2012 venues in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and recording the impressive health and safety record in building the Olympic Park and Village since 2006.
In addition to transforming the former athletes’ accommodation into a new community with badly-needed homes for families, sharers and individuals, the ODA has also been busy concluding more than £6 billion of commercial contracts and closing out a number of property transactions, and preparing for the statutory process, requiring parliamentary approval, before the organisation can close later in 2014.
Last updated 6 August 2014 + show all updates
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Incorporates confirmation of sale of East Village.
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First published.