Inside Farringdon Crossrail’s above-station development

As Helical completes on the acquisition of Farringdon East station, EG was given an exclusive tour inside what is soon to become one of London’s busiest interchanges. See the video below: The majority of Crossrail is due to complete by the end of the year, meaning the company itself is being wound down and the stations and tracks handed over to TfL. Many of the central London stations include extensive over-station development, which should recoup around £500m of the £14.8bn Crossrail cost. The Farringdon East and Helical deal was one of the first to be completed, alongside Bond Street station, where an agreement has been signed with Grosvenor Britain & Ireland to develop 110,000 sq ft above the western ticket hall. Both should be taking possession in the coming months. The first station to be handed back was the site above Tottenham Court Road’s eastern ticket hall, which was handed over to Derwent earlier this year. Ian Lindsay, land and property director at Crossrail, said it was one of the first infrastructure schemes to recoup its cost through developments above stations, and in total about 3.5m sq ft will be sold on to developers across 12 stations. The next stage at Farringdon will be the 280,000 sq ft Cardinal Place above the western ticket hall, which HB Reavis are under offer to take and is likely to complete in April. Lindsay said: “As developments like this show, the Crossrail project is much more than a railway. As well as delivering quicker journeys and new connections, the project is improving the built environment around and above our stations for Londoners and ensuring greater financial returns to the taxpayer.” TfL and other bodies are now consulting on how to use the lessons from Crossrail to pay for the next round of infrastructure in the UK – including HS2, Crossrail 2 and the Bakerloo line extension. To send feedback, e-mail alex.peace@egi.co.uk or tweet @egalexpeace or @estatesgazette