The University of Westminster has bought another building in Fitzrovia as part of plans to expand its Cavendish campus, it was revealed this week.
The five-storey 3,000 square metre building at 120 New Cavendish Street was put on the market by the Sports Direct retail group with an asking price of £38 million but was bought by the university for £44 million, reported the Evening Standard.
The building was constructed in 1997 by Great Portland Estates who own the freehold. A brochure produced by Michael Elliot to market the site stated that there is potential for extension of the existing building subject to planning permission.
The university’s latest purchase is diagonally opposite its other two sites in New Cavendish Street at number 101 which contains corporate services and number 115 which is its main teaching site for the Faculty of Science and Engineering. It also has sites at Little Titchfield Street and Wells Street in Fitzrovia, as well as a large campus at Regent Street, Marylebone Road and Harrow.
Geoff Petts, vice chancellor, told the Standard its latest land grab “is part of the next phase of our growth”.
The university is also considering options to redevelop its site at 115 New Cavendish Street and expressed its concern to Westminster City Council earlier this year over plans for a mixed use development at 87-125 Cleveland Street which it said could constrain or compromise its own future development plans.
The university’s latest purchase and growth plans are likely to alarm local residents who are already enduring the noise and disruption from a number of local construction projects.