Source:
https://scmp.com/presented/business/topics/invest-overseas-properties/article/3001809/londons-creative-professionals
Business

London's creative professionals are heading west to White City

The £8 billion White City Opportunity Area is creating a world-leading research and innovation powerhouse in West London.

[Sponsored Article]

The former home of BBC Television in London, White City is earning a new reputation as a world-leading center for education, media, science and technology. £8 billion (HKD 82.6bn) in public and private investment is funding a spate of new developments and creating around 20,000 new jobs within the next five years, along with 6,000 new homes to meet the high demand from the influx of creative professionals to the area.

In the past, creative development in London has primarily focused on the east, in locations such as Shoreditch and Stratford and venues like Here East. Now, the White City Opportunity Area is tapping the huge potential of West London as an attractive alternative for start-ups, big businesses and entrepreneurs alike, redeveloping old architecture and industrial sites into prime commercial and residential real estate close to one of London's busiest transport interchanges.

Led by Hammersmith and Fulham Council's Industrial Strategy, named 'Economic Growth for Everyone,' and with London's finest education institutions close at hand, White City is fast becoming one of the most competitive locations to live, study and do business in Europe.

Innovation district

To help White City achieve its growth potential, the new tech hotspot will include multimillion-pound investments in new university campuses and co-working spaces, inviting world-class researchers and top business minds to tackle the biggest challenges facing the world today. This includes the new £3 billion, 23-acre Imperial College London White City campus, which offers state-of-the-art laboratories, office space and incubation programs to help startups develop.

The former BBC Media Village north of Television Centre is also being repurposed as a mixed-use development and creative hub. Spanning 17 acres, White City Place provides state-of-the-art facilities for researchers and major brands such as ITV, YOOX Net-A-Porter and Huckletree, joined by restaurants, lifestyle amenities and a new campus for the Royal College of Art.

Social and educational benefits

Long neglected in comparison to other areas of London, a stated goal of the White City regeneration is to create “new areas of open space, improved facilities for local people, better pedestrian and cycling connections in light of the area's physical barriers, and create a mixed and balanced community.” This is being achieved with help from the groundbreaking EdCity project, a non-profit enterprise that's adding a wide range of amenities and housing to benefit the local community.

Along with much-needed housing in W12, EdCity is creating a shared workspace where charities and other educational and social organizations can collaborate and share resources to improve their impact locally and across the UK. The site will include a modern nursery, primary school and adult education facilities to provide greater access to learning at all levels and support local residents who are reentering employment, all as well as training facilities for teachers and other professionals working with disadvantaged children.

Access and amenities are also being improved across White City with the addition of a new public square and high streets, state-of-the-art sports and leisure facilities, a new five-acre park and pedestrian and cycle routes connecting the business district and transport hubs to residential areas.

For more information about White City Living and other residential properties in London, click here or contact JLL International Residential at +852 3759 0909 or [email protected].