UK’s first three storey warehouse
Gazeley has announced the acquisition of a six-acre plot of land in the heart of London to speculatively develop the UK’s first three-storey logistics facility to be called G Park London Docklands.
The site, located in Silvertown, was acquired from joint venture partners Galliard Homes and Cain International represented by Simon Higgins at Levy Real Estate.
The warehouse will comprise over 426,000 sq ft of space over three levels allowing for either multiple or single customer occupancy. The building will be used as a ‘last mile’ logistics hub for London and surrounding areas, targeting eCommerce, distribution and logistics customers. This development is in line with Greater London Authority’s commitment to land being made available for ‘last mile’ distribution close to central London and the Northern Isle of Dogs. The warehouse will be 2.5 miles from the City of London.
This development is the first of its kind in the UK and meets the needs of London’s economy and growing population. With scarce land available in London and an increasingly on-demand economy, distribution and logistics operations must find new and innovative ways to keep up with increasing delivery volumes demanded in shorter time periods. G Park London Docklands utilises the land available to deliver the maximum amount of space to potential customers.
Gazeley UK MD Alex Verbeek said: “This type of development has never been done before in the UK. A three-storey warehouse in such a central location will be hugely valuable for Londoners who will benefit from customers being able to deliver goods in record time. London is at the forefront of the digital revolution, but these services require an equally innovative supply chain to facilitate it. We feel that G Park London Docklands will make a big contribution to the infrastructure which is essential to support London’s evolution as a leading centre for digital commerce.”
The development
The site is opposite London City airport, immediately next to West Silvertown District London Rail (DLR) station on North Woolwich Road. With unparalleled access to serve the City of London and 5.6 million people living within a 30-minute drive, this is a genuine last mile, ultra-urban logistics opportunity for our retail and distribution customer base.
This is the first three-storey warehouse in the UK and will utilise platforms to allow HGVs and other vehicles to access each level. Each storey will comprise 140,000 sq ft of space with 26 dock doors and 4 access doors on each level. The site will contain 350 car parking spaces and around 75,000 sq ft of ancillary office space. G Park London Docklands will include a range of sustainability features such as the provision of electric charging points for vehicles, wellness initiatives to improve the working environment for people and a BREEAM Very Good rating.
Gazeley expects the development to be completed by the end of 2019, subject to planning permission.
GLP’s global expertise
The development of G Park London Docklands follows GLP’s acquisition of Gazeley in December 2017. GLP has significant experience developing multi-storey warehouses around the world. G Park London Docklands utilises that expertise to provide a new product to the UK market.
Nick Cook, chief executive officer, Gazeley, said: “Following the completion of the acquisition, our priority was to ensure that the expertise that Gazeley and GLP have built over their respective histories was effectively utilised. Multi-storey developments are more common place for GLP and we are delighted to be able to bring this concept to the UK.”
