The London Legacy Development Corporation has paused its hunt for a joint venture partner on its £575m regeneration in Stratford, E20, as the market grapples with the coronavirus pandemic.
The LLDC had previously delayed the launch by six months as it revised the 50:50 jv opportunity, scaling up with a broader mix of housing in a 1,250-home development.
It had approval from the investment committee to launch an OJEU procurement prior to the country going into lockdown and had planned to launch this month.
This is now on hold as the LLDC continues discussions and soft market testing with major developers.
Rosanna Lawes, executive director of development at the LLDC, said: “We don’t have any fixed deadline or target for launching, because we simply don’t know. We will watch the government’s response and keep an eye on the market, work alongside it and launch when it makes sense.
“We are spending our time talking to the market, because it is a two-way conversation. We need to understand how the market is responding and how it could respond when we go out.”
The £575m opportunity straddles two sites, the high-end 650-home Stratford Waterfront at the East Bank and the 600-home Bridgewater scheme to the south of the site, comprising family housing and a higher proportion of affordable homes.
Lawes noted that many developers under lockdown are focusing on cashflow and cost-cutting, and some have paused new projects and furloughed staff. She added that the project would not launch during the typically quieter period during the summer.
“There is no point in launching if the market has not remobilised and is ready too,” she said.
“The LLDC will have a part to play working alongside the market to help in London’s recovery from this crisis. We are clear that we will absolutely play our part in that. We have a continued dialogue with the market and we will choose the right time when the market is ready.”
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