黑洞社区

A host of big names including Laing O鈥橰ourke, Sir Robert McAlpine and Multiplex are all chasing Qatari Diar鈥檚 high-profile contract to turn the former US embassy in Mayfair into a luxury hotel, 黑洞社区 can reveal.

The scheme hit the headlines earlier this year after US president Donald Trump complained that the US government under his predecessor Barack Obama had sold the site to the Qataris for 鈥減eanuts鈥�.

The last of the embassy鈥檚 staff moved out of its historic Grosvenor Square address back in January into its new building, constructed by McAlpine, at Nine Elms.

Careys has won the first major package of work to carry out demolition and enabling works at the grade II listed home, built in 1960 to designs by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen.

The new plans have been drawn up by David Chipperfield and involve building a 137 room hotel with five restaurants, six flagship retail units, a spa and 1,000 person ballroom.

The longlist of eight contractors for the job is completed by Mace, Skanska, Balfour Beatty, Kier and Lendlease.

No official value has been put on the job but one source said: 鈥淚t will be north of 拢200m.鈥�

The bidding timetable is expected to follow that of Qatari Diar鈥檚 revived phase four of its 拢1bn Chelsea Barracks redevelopment, the longlist which 黑洞社区 revealed yesterday.

A winner on the Grosvenor Square job is expected in the first quarter of next year with work starting in earnest later in 2019.

The wider project team includes Gardiner & Theobald as cost consultant, Buro Four as project manager, AKT II as structural and fa莽ade engineer, Hilson Moran as building services, fire engineer and ecology consultant, and BDP as landscape consultant.

Chipperfield has said his designs 鈥渞espect the significant architectural and structural characteristics of Eero Saarinen鈥檚 design, with a focus on restoring and enhancing this unique building to secure its long-term future at the heart of Mayfair鈥�.

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts will manage the new hotel once completed.