Bloomsbury is set to get a £400m facelift thanks to a collaboration between some of the area’s most influential landowners.
A consortium called Bloomsbury London Partnership will invest nearly half-a-billion pounds into the area, widely viewed as the intellectual and literary hub of the capital.
The group – which comprises Bedford Estates, Imperial London Hotel, Kimpton Fitzroy London, Lazari Investments and Central District Alliance – has pledged to bring the “abundance of truly inspirational experiences” to the area’s fore with the regeneration programme.
Much of the multimillion pound investment will be put towards a refurbishment of the Imperial Hotel, along with the creation of three new hotels in the area that spans from King’s Cross and Euston to Warren Street and Holborn.
It will also fund the establishment of a ‘Bloomsbury London’ brand, which, the consortium hopes, will “elevate” the neighbourhood where the British Museum, the Dominion Theatre and the Wellcome Collection are all located.
Simon Elmer, a spokesman for the Bloomsbury London Partnership, said: “We have a concern that many visitors are simply passing through our neighbourhood every year, rather than experiencing the depth of the area and everything that it has to offer.
“It’s time to interrupt those journeys and show people the abundance of truly inspirational experiences on offer daily – and that there’s even more to come.”
Once the home of Virginia Woolf and John Maynard Keynes, Bloomsbury now boasts 14 museums and over 40 hotels.
Its regeneration is similar to the £3bn overhaul that Bayswater is undergoing. Developers are breathing new life into the forgotten about pocket of west London by re-opening the once-iconic Whiteley shopping centre and hosting celebrated restaurateur Jeremy King’s new restaurant The Park.