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Queen Mary University in London will develop a large biomedical campus in the stolen section of the East End after signing a contract with the government to purchase 80,000 square meters of land along with the existing Whitechapel campus.
Mary’s principal, Colin Bailey, estimated that the development of mostly derelict sites to a world-class life science centre would cost around £750 million.
While many UK universities have shown signs of financial stress, “Queen Mary’s good financial position allows us to make a big investment in the long term future of our university and our mission,” Bailey said.
The Whitechapel site last changed hands in 2016 when Barts Health NHS Trust sold it to the Ministry of Health and Social Care for £77 million.
One person close to the deal said the new purchase price would be within the millions of pounds of the 2016 deal. Queen Mary and the DHSC refused to disclose transaction details.
“We build high-quality research and education on Queen Mary’s unparalleled position as a university that combines quality research and education in order to help us serve and address health and social inequality,” Bailey said.
The site is located on the south side of Whitechapel Road, next to Royal London Hospital. Bailey said that Queen Mary is “paying the open market rate for the land. There are no special deals from DHSC.”
“It is likely that there will be an increase in the value of a substantial London development site with a potential/plan for life science use,” said Mark Pickering, director of real estate data, which provides real estate market analysis.
The plan includes five new and reused buildings designed by Architects Allies & Morrison and Gibson Thornley. Municipal Tower Hamlet gave planning consent last November.
Sir Mark Caulfield, Queen Mary’s vice-president of health, said the funds came from the university’s “strategic reserves.”
“This is one of the top-notch opportunities for Queen Mary. If they pass it, there are no other properties adjacent to the campus that could be made available to the university,” he added. “You need to take the calculated risk from time to time, and we take it from a position of confidence.”
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London’s life science facilities are growing rapidly from White City in the west to the so-called Knowledge Quarter around King’s Cross and Bloomsbury, to Canary Wharf in the east.
By 2030, the capital will have an additional 580,000 square meters of labs and office space specialising in life sciences.
Queen Mary can compete with other biomedical campuses, Caulfield said. “As a university, we can provide infrastructure that small businesses don’t have. There is an NHS nearby, and BARTS Health operates five hospitals, with the highest number of patients enrolled in commercial testing in the country.
“We will work very closely with Tower Hamlet, Baht Health and other partners to maximize benefits for our patients in one of the most disadvantaged regions of the country,” he added.
