We are starting from a great base as we are not creating a new place. St James’s is world renowned as an office destination, offering world class retail and restaurants and for the quality of its residential. It’s our job to move that forward for future generations”
The Crown owns more than 170 properties in St James’s which equates to 4 million sq ft of space.
CGI view north up Haymarket with new development to the left.
The area takes its name from St James’s Palace – the oldest royal residence – which was built by Henry VIII. The essential lay-out of the area dates from the 17th century when Henry Jermyn was granted permission to develop the fields of St James’s as a reward for his support of Charles II in regaining the throne.
Some of the oldest retailers in London can be found in and around St James’s Street including wine merchants, Justerini & Brooks; hat makers, Locks, whose customers have included Churchill, Chaplin and Nelson; and, of course, Fortnum & Mason.
To others, St James’s is ‘clubland’ – a concentration of what were exclusively ‘gentlemen’s clubs’ but whose membership is now more in keeping with modern times.
And it is modernisation and improvement which is at the heart of the Crown’s plans – which also have to keep close eye on maintaining the area’s unique character.
Anthea Harries is the Crown Estate’s Portfolio Manager for St James’s and is charged with overseeing delivery of the strategy for the area.
She sums up the initial challenge that the Crown faced: “How do we move the estate forward whilst
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protecting its heritage? How are we going to move it forward for future generations? We can’t stand still: we have to ensure the estate meets the needs of the 21st century business occupier, and also the millions of tourists and shoppers who visit the area, as well as the residents who populate the area”.
Fresh from its widely-acclaimed work on the adjoining Regent Street estate, the Crown began its St James’s project by looking at the increasing number of “redundant buildings behind beautiful facades” and also the retail mix. For the latter, its vision demanded that new retailers coming into the area must be “personal, distinctive, stimulating and eclectic”.
Harries explains: “What that effectively means is that our focus is on boutique, heritage, brandworthy retailers rather than traditional high street brands and multiples”.
This benchmark has equated to a clutch of new retailers entering the area for the first time including, Tiger of Sweden, Barbour International, Sunspel, Grosvenor Shirts and Osprey London.
The area’s office sector also has its very own distinctive character and the Crown is now looking at how to nurture that.
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