The former Fenwick department store on Bond Street will be getting a roof garden as part of a rebuilding project which has been granted planning permission by Westminster Council.
Formerly Fenwick (c) ianVisits
Fenwick opened their department store on the site in 1891, but they only had a small shop on the corner — and slowly expanded over the next century, buying up and rebuilding neighbouring shops to form the current department store. The store closed earlier this year, and the building was bought by Lazari Investments, who commissioned Foster + Partners to design the redevelopment.
The aim is to convert most of the old store’s upper floors into offices and add some more floors above while retaining retail on the ground floor. There will be a roof terrace at the top for the office workers, but it is unlikely to be open to the public, save possibly for special open days.
Source: Foster + Partners / Planning documents
At the moment, the building has a plain ground floor with glass windows, and above, between three and four floors of the more richly decorated building facade.
In essence, they plan to lift the stone frontage up by about 4 metres, creating a taller ground floor, and then add more floors on top, but set back to make them less visible from the street. In total, the change will provide a building of five storeys plus a basement, with setbacks on the fifth to 8th floors with terraces and set back 9th floor with a terrace and plant and 10th floor roof terrace.
Although the set-back floors won’t be visible in front of the building, as you move further away, they will start to become visible, looking not unlike a hilly mound on top of the former department store.
Source: Foster + Partners / Planning documents
The ground floor will be used for retail shops facing on to Bond Street, while the rest of the building will be converted into offices with an entrance to that around the side on Brook Street.
Now that Westminster Council has approved the plans, they have to go to the Mayor of London for the final sign-off, as the size of the development falls within the Mayor’s remit.
The proximity to the Elizabeth line will have been a significant factor in the office conversion.
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