DEVELOPMENT FOCUS
and one of the most crucial parts of the capital’s Olympic legacy.
THE SITE
The site spans over 27 hectares of land and is situated next to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park which boasts of 285 hectares of parkland, waterways, and nature trails connected by paths for jogging cycling and walking. East Village is one of the best connected neighbourhoods in London with Stratford International and Stratford Regional stations offering links to London’s key locations, for example you can reach the West End in 20 mins, Canary Wharf in 12 mins and London airports within an hour. Over 30 local and independent shops, cafes and restaurants will open in the East Village site in Spring 2014 and Westfield Stratford City shopping centre is also on resident's doorsteps.
CONSTRUCTION
The original design, planning and construction work of the Village was overseen by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), with building work starting on site in 2007. Against the immovable deadline of the 2012 Games the ODA, its team of contractors and a 10,000- strong workforce completed construction in early 2012. In the months leading up to
the Games, a range of temporary fittings were then put in place to help accommodate the huge numbers of athletes - temporary partition walls were installed in each apartment to create extra bed space, temporary marquees and building were installed to create dining and entertainment space for athletes..
As soon as the Games were
over, an intense period of ‘retro- fit’ work was carried out to remove the temporary fittings and get the apartments transformed to become long- term new housing. Over 1,500 workers returned to the Village site to remove over 12km of temporary partition walls, laying new high-quality wooden flooring in all apartments as well as specialist teams installing contemporary and stylish kitchens to all homes. Work also included installing essential community facilities and infrastructure such as 80km of broadband cabling, fitting out a brand new health centre and adding further planting to the many green spaces.
This work neared completion in Autumn 2013, with the first new homes handed over to Get Living London and Triathlon Homes ready for the first residents to move in.
OCCUPANCY & THE FUTURE
The Get Living London
project aims to make renting a better experience for Londoners. Rental properties are available with no fees or hidden charges, no landlords or middlemen, a range of flexible 1-3 year tenancies, and great service with an experienced team on site to quickly respond to residents’ needs. The vibrant new
neighbourhood offers a range of homes to suit everyone - from one-bedroom apartments to four-bedroom townhouses with a choice of private rental with Get Living London, and both affordable rental or purchase with Triathlon Homes. Triathlon Homes will be offering 1,379 homes to eligible applicants on a range of incomes including 356 homes for rent with a 20% discount on market rate, 675 social rent homes and another 348 through shared ownership. The first residents began to move into East Village in November 2013 and there are now more than 300 residents (correct as of Jan 2014). Further homes will be handed over to Get Living London and Triathlon Homes between now and summer 2014 - more homes are now available to meet the growing demand.
The overall aim was to show that living in London couldn't be easier if the right solutions and offers are implemented.
BritishBuilder.co.uk | British Builder & Developer | 15
IT solutions for the build
IT group Fifosys was also involved with the build, providing communication, integration and connectivity to make the plan a reality and to develop, implement and manage a robust, integrated and agile IT strategy for the build. Anandh Owen, Delancey COO, said: “Fifosys has introduced innovative ways of working that have helped improve processes, drive efficiencies and, impressively, improve our commercial offering. For project management, for example, they introduced an innovative dashboard system that has allowed us to monitor progress and measure performance against agreed objectives and milestones. It’s given us greater transparency and visibility within the project as well as improving communication, enhancing information-sharing and encouraging collaboration across all stakeholder groups.”
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