Berkeley Group has been chosen as the preferred bidder to develop a 25-acre east London site with the potential for 3,500 homes.
The Greater London Authority has appointed the FTSE 100-listed housebuilder to develop the former Parcelforce Depot on Stephenson Street in West Ham, E16.
It was selected ahead of rival bids from Barratt and L&Q; a Taylor Wimpey-led consortium including Dorchester Living; Legal & General; Laing O’Rourke; and Hadley Mace, a jv between Mace and Hadley Property Group.
London mayor Boris Johnson launched the sales process for the site – which had been earmarked for 2,000 homes – earlier this year.
The selected proposals have increased the density of the scheme, which could have an estimated gross development value of more than £1bn.
The GLA said when it launched the scheme that a third of it was to be made available for the private rental market.
The accepted bid will provide 1,134 homes for sale, 1,151 for private rent on a 10-year covenant, 745 for affordable rent and 470 for affordable sale, alongside 91,000 sq ft of commercial space, a new school and station upgrades.
Johnson said: “This huge chunk of disused land will be put to the best possible use, creating a new neighbourhood including 3,500 much-needed new homes, a new school and a park.
“This ambitious development will help to further the continuing transformation of east London as part of our Olympic legacy,” he said.
The site, between Bromley-by-Bow and West Ham Tube stations, will benefit not only from the opening of Crossrail in 2018, but also the extension of Travelcard zone 2 to West Ham and Stratford next year.
Berkeley also owns the adjoining site through its St William brand and its partnership with the National Grid, which could be used to create a housing regeneration behemoth.
The GLA has put to work almost all its portfolio of 1,500 acres of land.
It said that 99% had either been developed, is in development, is contractually committed or is being marketed.
A considerable part of this activity has been in east London, which has delivered thousands of new homes and millions of sq ft of new business space.
The government’s comprehensive spending review this week estimated that the GLA will provide enough land for an additional 5,000 homes on top of land for 160,000 homes being sold by Whitehall over the next five years.
