Saturday November 10, 2018
McGee has celebrated the ‘Topping Out’ of the new £300m development in Leicester Square, The Londoner.
The ceremony, attended by cultural, political and industry stakeholders, was led by Edwardian Hotels London Chairman and CEO Jasminder Singh OBE to celebrate this crucial construction milestone. Jasminder placed the last of the concrete at level nine of the new hotel and signified the completion of the construction works.
The Topping Out marks a proud moment for McGee as the final stage of the specialist contractor’s integrated delivery offering is completed, encompassing the decontamination, demolition, substructure, and superstructure of this magnificent project.
Iype Abraham, Commercial Development Director at Edwardian Hotels London, said:
“As Edwardian Hotels London’s first purpose-built hotel, The Londoner will embrace the drama and heritage of its West End setting whilst retaining the high standards and quality our guests have come to expect. The Londoner demonstrates our pioneering and ambitious vision in its ability to conceptualise, design and develop a world-class London landmark.”
Scheduled to open in 2020 this five-star, 15 level hotel is set to transform London’s hospitality scene. The property has one of the deepest commercial basements in Europe which will encompass leisure facilities, two Odeon Luxe cinemas, spa, and state-of-the-art conference facilities.
Working for Edwardian Hotels London, McGee has provided a truly integrated delivery solution for The Londoner.
Delivered by their in-house specialist resources, McGee completed the demolition and decontamination of the old Odeon building in January 2015. Piling for the basement commenced in April 2016 and over the period to February, they successfully excavated the deepest commercial basement in London which required the excavation of 75,000m3 of spoil, and the installation of circa 1600ts of temporary propping steel. In February 2017, a ‘Bottoming Out’ celebration was held to mark this major milestone in the project.
Over the last 12 months, McGee constructed the 6-storey basement back to ground level and installed 400t of structural-steel work over 3 nights, completed on the 16th February 2018.
Work then turned immediately to the 9-storey superstructure, standing 31m above the ground floor entrance level and 65m above the deepest part of the excavation.
Seb Fossey, McGee Operations Director, said:
“The team has worked relentlessly in order to celebrate the topping out of The Londoner. McGee has employed hundreds of people on this project – almost 1,400 individuals at the latest count – and have safely accumulated approximately 800,000 person-hours on the project.
“My thanks go to every woman and man that we have employed on this project for the exceptional effort that they have given us throughout.
“I’d also like to thank the Edwardian Hotels London team whose commitment to being a partner as well as a client has been exemplary. Their approach, ambition, and determination to deliver this scheme is an example to the industry and we wish them the very best of luck with the opening of The Londoner.”
The Londoner will be an impressive new London landmark and city destination, complementing the capital and the West End neighbourhood. It demonstrates Edwardian Hotels London’s continued commitment to the UK and the capital.