A cluster of five buildings is to be razed in the next month to make way for a new £150million development.
Restaurants, boutiques, cafes, a pharmacy and an opticians were among businesses turfed out of the block on Baker Street by the end of last month as their leases ended.
More than 240,000 sq ft mixed retail and office space is to be built on the space currently occupied by Accurist House, Watson House, 62-64 Baker Street, 66-70 Baker Street, and 43-44 Dorset Street.
The development, which is expected to be complete by 2029, also includes 17 residential unit, 29 per cent of which are to be ‘family homes’
Its developer, Derwent, recently finished the development of 25 Baker Street just across the road, and includes an office block and a shopping precinct – much of which remains to be let.
Work began on site at No 50 last month and demolition of the entire complex is set to be complete by the end of this year.
Derwent entered the project in 2021, as a 50/50 joint venture with Lazari Investments.
The city block is one of several large buildings earmarked for demolition within a year, despite a shift in council policy to prioritise retrofits.
Work is set to begin at Marks and Spencer’s flagship Marble Arch store after the retailer was given the green light by Angela Rayner to raze the complex including the art deco Orchard House.
Also set to be demolished is the former National Cash Registers building on Marylebone Road, although plans show the 1930s frontage is to be retained as part of the new development.
Permission was also granted last October for a ‘modest retrofit-led’ redevelopment and rooftop extension of 55 Baker Street (just opposite the No 50 development).
The building, which was originally built in the 1950s but was refurbished in 2007 currently houses several restaurants, a Tesco and a gym, as well as several floors of office space.