Greenwich Square

Leading the way to meet London's acute housing needs

A stalled development for over 10 years on government brownfield land, it was only when Mace, as the principal equity investor, worked through the complex issues through a special purpose joint venture company, that the site was finally unlocked.

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Greenwich Square Project summary

Development value

£250m

Key partners

Royal Borough of Greenwich, NHS, Greater London Authority, London Housing Authority (L&Q), Make Architects

Project timeline

Start date: 2012
End date: Live

Project story

The team brought together the numerous stakeholders involved to channel energy around a common purpose: to create a new community for east Greenwich. Delivering 50% affordable housing, high-quality design has been a key feature of the project.

As co-investor, co-developer and delivery partner for the £250m, three hectare brownfield regeneration scheme, we are creating a vibrant new destination, providing 686 new mixed-tenure homes. The scheme also created a new community hub with facilities including a leisure centre, library, health centre, adult education college and shops, all planned around an attractive town square.

One of the first schemes in the UK to make use of the 'buy now pay later’ land initiatives, the creative social housing model included a pre-sale to L&Q of 314 of the residential units, and a commercial transaction with the Council for the funding and future management of the Greenwich Centre.

Phase 1 - completed

361 residential apartments, maisonettes and town houses completed and occupied
Public square, GP surgery, leisure centre, public library and retail space

Phase 2 - due for completion August 2020

325 residential studios, one, two and three bed apartments (239 private, 86 affordable) - under construction

Aerial View of Greenwich Square Building - Mace Group

Project stats

686 new homes

8 funding partners

£250m gross development value

Points of note

Building sustainable homes

Sustainability has been integral to the design of Greenwich Square, from the design of the apartments and townhouses, to the facilities provided for residents. All the homes are designed to Code Level 4 Fabric First for sustainable new homes, as well as meeting the Building for Life ‘Silver Standard’ and attaining CEEQUAL ‘Very Good’ for landscaping and public realm works.

New homes for Londoners

Of the 686 new homes at Greenwich Square, almost 50% are affordable, when the average level of affordable housing delivered on new developments in London is closer to 30%. The fact that such a large percentage of the homes fall into this category has contributed hugely to the social enhancement of the neighbourhood, helping to deliver urgently needed affordable homes for local people.

An integrated Mace offer

Mace’s experienced and integrated development management, project management and construction delivery teams have led the town planning, design and delivery solutions to add value and reduce risk and uncertainty of the development.

Creating a new community hub

The new Greenwich Centre, providing a range of community, leisure and health services - including swimming pools, a public library, GP surgery and an adult learning college - is already proving to be hugely popular with local residents and has further enhanced the development and wider local community. Further adding to the village appeal of the development, retailers on site include a pharmacy, Sainsbury's, a dentist, a hairdresser and coffee shop.

With over 360 new homes now complete and occupied, and the Greenwich Centre open to the public since spring 2015, it's proving to be a hugely popular attraction with local residents, with almost one million visitors using the facilities in its first year.

High-quality, design-led approach

High-quality design has been a key feature of the project and the variety of homes is designed to reflect the range of buyers and their requirements. Each home at Greenwich Square has been individually created to complement modern day life.

The scheme's success has been recognised by our peers, winning the Gold Award for best mixed-use development at the prestigious What House? Awards in 2015.

“Already we can see the change the development has brought to the local area and with residents now moved in, the Greenwich Centre open for business and retail units open, there’s a strong sense of community and vibrancy that will only continue to build.”

David Grover COO for Mace Developments

“My wife and I both travel into central London for work, so having good transport links was a deciding factor when looking for a home and east Greenwich really ticked all our boxes. I really like that Greenwich Square is helping build, and will be at the heart of, a new community.”

Markus Greenwich Square resident

“Greenwich Square is a great example of GLA brownfield land being used to build much needed housing of an excellent quality with fantastic public facilities to boost the local community.”

Richard Blakeway Deputy Mayor for Housing, Land and Property, Greater London Authority

“We had an original vision for this key strategic site to be developed. It’s great to see, now several years on, that work is forging ahead. It’s providing much needed quality new housing and first-class facilities for local residents”

Councillor Denise Hyland Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich

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