John F Hunt starts demolition work at site of £200m West End tower to be built by Bovis

John F Hunt has begun demolition work at a site that will make way for a new £200m office tower near the British Museum in London that will be built by Bovis.

The firm has begun clearing a vacant Travelodge, NCP car park and derelict buildings under a masterplan called the St Giles Quarter which will include a new 19-storey block at One Museum Street.

Developer BC Partners is also planning retail space and 44 homes at the site, as well as new public realm under plans drawn up by architect DSDHA.

One Museum Street will deliver nearly 180,000sq ft of Grade A office and retail floorspace – the bulk of the development’s planned 220,000sq ft of space.

The entire St Giles Quarter scheme, so called because of its proximity to the St Giles area, is due to finish in late 2028.

Others working on the deal include development manager Simten, project manager Gardiner & Theobald, QS T&T Alinea and structural engineer Heyne Tillett Steel.

John F Hunt has also begun strip out work at the site of Edge’s planned office scheme at 125 Shaftesbury Avenue. The Dutch developer plans to modernise the 1980s-built block with Bovis and Sir Robert McAlpine both bidding for the job. A winner on the £150m scheme, also designed by DSDHA, is due later this autumn. Executive architect on both schemes is Veretec.