19
Big Picture
he £1bn plans to turn
Olympia London into a
multi-purpose cultural hub
have been approved by
planners.
YOO Capital and Deutsche Finance
International – which own the
132-year-old exhibition centre –
submitted plans to Hammersmith &
Fulham Council in 2018 to turn the
14-acre site into a destination with
hotels, restaurants, performance
venues and office space.
Heatherwick Studio and SPPARC
are leading on the design and
implementation of the project,
which will also see 2.5 acres of new
public space created. The
transformation will begin at an
unspecified date in 2020, with the
first tenants moving in by 2023. The
venue says it will not close during
the works.
YOO Capital and Deutsche
Finance International are in
advanced talks with stakeholders in
entertainment and hospitality about
taking space on the site and say
they plan to announce the first
commercial partners in the spring.
The project will create more than
3,000 new construction jobs over
the five-year build in addition to
approximately 5,400 new jobs for
the borough when it is completed. It
will also bring in an extra £9m per
year in consumer spending to
Hammersmith & Fulham.
Key features of the project
include:
• A 1,500-seat theatre
• A 1,000-seat performing arts
venue
• Two hotels
• A four-screen cinema
• 63,000sqm of creative office
space, including new co-working
space
• Upgrades to the existing spaces
• A 18,50sqm logistics centre
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