London-listed real estate corporation Berkeley Group’s division, St William, is currently promoting their latest residential project, Regent’s View, in London. The 555-unit development, located in Zone 2 in the borough of Tower Hamlets, is a result of a unique adaptive reuse scheme, with the site formerly being a Victorian-era gasholder. The project has already been recognized globally, winning the “Best Future Residential Project” award at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) in 2024, held in Singapore.
St William was established in 2014 as a joint venture between Berkeley Group and London’s National Grid, with the aim of redeveloping industrial sites owned by the National Grid into new residential and community spaces. In March 2022, Berkeley Group acquired National Grid’s stake in St William for GBP412.5 million ($705 million), giving them full ownership of 24 brownfield sites across London for their long-term landbank. Currently, St William has around six ongoing developments across the city, with Regent’s View being one of them.
The 4.5-acre site in East London, situated along the banks of Regent’s Canal, was formerly known as the Bethnal Green Gasholders, a prominent landmark in the area since the 1850s. While the gasholders were decommissioned in 2012, the iconic frames have still been an integral part of the borough’s cityscape for over 200 years. The site comprises of several Victorian-era gasholders that were built to provide gas to the district’s homes. The project plans to transform the decommissioned site into a mixed-use project, encompassing a range of residential buildings, commercial and community spaces, as well as a public-access canal frontage.
Graham Stirk, Senior Director at RSHP, the architectural partner on the project, states, “Our design for Regent’s View celebrates the historical industrial heritage of the site. The preservation of the iconic gasholder frames allows for a unique urban and architectural environment that deviates from the norm.” The gasholder frames, which are a prominent feature of the cityscape in the Tower Hamlets borough, will be a defining element of the new development.
The project will feature five contemporary residential buildings, ranging from six to thirteen stories, surrounding a landscaped park. Two of the towers will be framed by restored gasholder structures. In total, Regent’s View will house 555 private and affordable homes, along with 45,000 sq ft of commercial and community spaces on the ground floor. The development also includes the restoration of 100m of public-access canal frontage, which will be the first time in over a century that this stretch of Regent’s Canal will be accessible to the public. The area will be activated with new food and beverage offerings.
However, the development of Regent’s View did face some controversy when it was first announced in 2019. Initially, the local council and St William’s plans to redevelop the site were met with opposition, with over 8,000 people signing a petition to preserve the gasholder frames. Despite this, the Tower Hamlets council voted seven-to-one in favor of the project. It took St William almost five years to conceptualize and incorporate the gasholder frames into the design, as well as gain local support for the project. Dean Summers, Divisional Managing Director at St William, shares that much of this time was spent engaging with the local community to find ways to preserve the gasholder frames, meet their affordable housing targets, and rejuvenate the canal front through placemaking activities.
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Summers adds, “Affordable housing is a key priority for many local councils in London, and we were happy to work closely with them on the adaptive reuse of this industrial site. This strong collaboration enabled us to allocate 35% of the units for affordable housing.”
The project design and the incorporation of the gasholder frames were carefully scrutinized, with an emphasis on ensuring the site’s permeability to promote public access wherever possible. The development will reintroduce public access to a previously inaccessible stretch of the canal, with the addition of food and beverage options.
Tracy Meller, Senior Director at RSHP, explains, “Our priority was to ensure that the development of Regent’s View contributes to the overall placemaking and rejuvenation of the neighborhood. This is why we opted for a landscape buffer around the site rather than the high walls of a traditional gated community.” The design team also used the circular forms of the gasholder frames to create a gentler contrast to the site’s edges, allowing for easy permeability through the site and towards the canal.
Additionally, the ground floors of all five buildings will be reserved for non-residential use. The two largest gasholder buildings along the waterfront will feature public-facing commercial amenities, such as cafes, bars, and restaurants. The ground floors of the other three buildings will house amenities exclusively for residents, such as a concierge and facilities.
Regent’s View is not the only industrial brownfield site featuring heritage gasholder frames that St William is developing. As part of their landbank acquired from their previous partnership with National Grid, they are also developing a 23-acre plot in the Newham borough, which will be transformed into a 2,000-unit mixed-use project. The design plans for the site, known as Bromley-By-Bow Gasworks, are also being developed by RSHP. The site comprises of seven Victorian-era gasholder frames, making it the largest collection of surviving frames of this era in the world. The development of Bromley-By-Bow Gasworks is expected to commence next year.
Last year, St William launched the sale of The Wright Building, a six-storey block at Regent’s View offering a mix of one- to three-bedroom units, with prices ranging from GBP675,000 ($1.15 million) to GBP1.63 million. This block is more than 70% sold and is expected to be completed next year. In September, St William launched the sale of The Westwood Building, another six-storey block featuring one- and three-bedroom units, with prices starting from GBP585,000 for a one-bedroom unit to GBP1.68 million for a three-bedroom unit. Almost 90% of the units in The Westwood Building are one-bedroom units, making it likely to attract interest from international investors.
According to Dean Summers, over 50% of international buyers are based in Asia, adding, “We’ve seen a strong interest from international buyers, particularly those looking for a base for their children attending university or as a professional residence close to London’s financial hubs.” He also mentions that the next sales phase at Regent’s View will see the units in the 13-storey block, located within the largest gasholder frame, go on sale in the second half of 2025. The third sales phase will feature some of the largest-sized units in the development, such as the three-bedroom units, which are expected to attract significant interest as most of the food and beverage offerings will be located on the ground floor, with most units offering views of either the waterfront or the landscaped courtyard.
The significant buyer interest at Regent’s View so far also highlights the growing popularity of investing in new developments in London’s Zone 2 neighborhoods, according to Summers. He adds, “As property prices continue to rise in central London, savvy investors are turning to properties in Zone 2 for more attractive rental premiums.”…