The Skanska development, due for completion in early 2020, will combine retail, leisure and entertainment spaces

London鈥檚 world-famous Denmark Street, known as 鈥楾in Pan Alley鈥� and home to music shops that sold instruments to guitar legends including Jimi Hendrix, is to get a multi-million pound makeover.

Skanska is to build the St Giles Circus scheme in the West End of the capital for Consolidated Developments in a deal worth 拢142m.

The project, due for completion in early 2020, will combine retail, leisure and entertainment spaces, commercial offices and residential accommodation across four new buildings and a number of existing buildings.

Foundations for the largest of the new buildings will straddle the Crossrail tunnel, which runs into nearby Tottenham Court Road station, above which the team will construct an underground 鈥榖ox within a box鈥� to contain an auditorium.

In a later phase of the development, grade II-listed properties and shops on Denmark Place, St Giles High Street and the north side of Denmark Street 鈥� home to the famous guitar emporium Macari鈥檚 鈥� will see their premises 鈥渦pdated鈥�, with offices and residential accommodation built into upper levels, according to Skanska.

Steve Holbrook, Skanska鈥檚 managing director, said: 鈥淲e鈥檝e worked hard with local businesses and organisations like Historic England to ensure the character of the area is retained and continues to serve music lovers into the future, through both its new and existing buildings.

鈥淚t鈥檚 great to be part of a scheme that is bringing a major performance venue back to the area,鈥� he added.

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