Lendlease Elephant Park

NHBC is proud to support the house-building industry. Our purpose is to raise standards by championing high-quality homes and NHBC is also invested in the future of this industry and works to understand the innovative ways it is evolving to meet consumer demand.

That’s why we’ve spoken with Lendlease to discuss Elephant Park, their flagship development in London, and the future of Build to Rent.

Background:

Build to Rent (BTR) property developments are designed and built with the intention of appealing to the rental market rather than for long-term home ownership.

Lendlease’s first BTR development in the UK, Elephant Park, is an ambitious project. Featured on the BBC’s Interior Design Masters programme, the team worked with the London Borough of Southwark Partnership to deliver a combination of BTR, shared ownership and opportunities to buy.

The vision:

Lendlease’s vision for the development was to breathe new life into this part of London. Lendlease also had clear goals for the wider development including:

• becoming the UK’s first climate positive development upon completion in 2025
• building an energy hub providing net-zero carbon heat and hot water to the homes at Elephant Park
• establishing a new two acre park
• the creation of 6,000 new jobs, including 5,000 in construction
• and 3,000 new homes, 25% of which would be affordable housing.

The challenge:

The development has already helped create a thriving 13,000 square meter retail area and established Elephant Park as a large new green space. But bringing such a sizable and ambitious development to the UK was never going to be easy, and Elephant Park faced further unexpected challenges in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Stephanie Barbabosa, Head of Build to Rent at Lendlease said “It seems obvious but actually one of the biggest challenges we faced was Covid. I’m proud that we started doing business during that time and still made such a success of it. It took perseverance and determination to make it work even when we had to keep adjusting our plans and adapting as things changed, but now things are progressing rapidly.”

Design for life:

Elephant Park also offers residents design features that were part of Lendlease’s added value offer before Covid-19, but became even more desirable afterwards.

Stephanie explained “It all starts with good design, to give residents everything you think they will need in a home in order to want to stay. It can be something as simple as integrated storage or slightly larger living spaces so incorporating an extra piece of furniture, such as a desk, doesn’t eat into the room. This was an example of something we did bring over from the US where it’s much more common for people to telecommute.

We’ve also found people appreciating other design elements like all our homes having a balcony, but this was already part of the design, not a result of Covid. Again, it comes back to understanding what consumers want and then including it.”

The results:

Elephant Park is now a thriving and attractive space that has made the most of the rich history of the area while also maximising it’s current potential. The development also secured 44% of BTR properties fully leased in the first three months of opening, with ongoing interest from across the UK.

Stephanie added “Working with NHBC to provide us with warranty and asset protection across Elephant Park really gave us peace of mind throughout the process.”

NHBC is delighted to have supported this innovative development through the provision of these important services.