The 180-acre, £7BN park town by Related Argent and Barnet Council has partnered with Fusion to deliver and manage new purpose-built student accommodation with 662 rooms in the new north London neighbourhood
The property, Fusion at Brent Cross Town, will be Fusion’s first development in London. The student accommodation brand creates positive spaces to inspire its student residents and has already successfully launched nine schemes across the UK offering over 3,500 beds. Fusion at Brent Cross Town will provide 662 private rooms in a design-led, high-quality environment which offers students a home that enriches and enhances their university experience. Fusion at Brent Cross Town intends to welcome student residents to their new homes in time for the 2024/2025 academic year.
The site, which has planning consent for the development of student accommodation, has been acquired by a joint venture between Fusion and Cheyne Capital, a leading real estate debt and equity investor. The student accommodation will be one of first buildings to complete at Brent Cross Town and will be delivered alongside affordable, residential for sale and build-to-rent homes, as well as office, retail and leisure space.
As the first London site for Fusion, Brent Cross Town will provide an exceptional offering to its future student residents. Designed to be a ‘15-minute town’, it will have new shops, restaurants, amenities and leisure facilities, as well as 50 acres of green parks and playing fields all accessible within a 15-minute walk. As well as supporting thriving urban lifestyles, Brent Cross Town also offers exceptional connectivity to universities across north London and in central London. The new Brent Cross West Thameslink Station, which completes in December 2022, will connect to King’s Cross via London St Pancras Station in just 12 minutes.
Fusion at Brent Cross Town will offer an extensive mix of amenities including a dramatic multi-purpose tiered event space, coffee shop and zero-waste shop, a social lounge, a cinema room, e-sports arena and KTV karaoke room, as well as group study lounges and private study rooms. Fitness and wellbeing amenities include an onsite gym, yoga studio, basketball court, wellness studio and an external terrace. The building will also include two flexible commercial units on the ground floor.
Designed by Glenn Howells Architects, the new building will provide three connected blocks that range from nine to 22 storeys offering a variety of student rooms of different sizes and types, alongside communal amenity, and recreation spaces. The three distinct forms of the buildings are expressed individually with varying heights, tones and materials while remaining as a collection that will complement the attractive, diverse townscape setting of Brent Cross Town.
Andre Gibbs, Partner of Related Argent, said: “We are thrilled to be working with Fusion and Cheyne Capital and to secure the provision for student accommodation at Brent Cross Town. Fusion represents the best in student accommodations and their commitment to quality of life is aligned with the ethos of Brent Cross Town. The arrival of the student community will be a crucial component in supporting all-day activity from the outset of the development and will enhance the neighbourhood.”
Councillor Barry Rawlings, Leader of Barnet Council, said: “By design Brent Cross Town will be a place for everyone with a mix of accommodation to provide for young, old, families and the business community, a mix that will contribute to a dynamic and thriving community. We are delighted to work with Fusion on this accommodation which will provide a first-class experience for students that want to live in Barnet.”
Ben Henry, Head of Acquisitions at Fusion added: “It is incredibly exciting for us to take the Fusion brand into London for the first time. We’re confident that the brand-new Brent Cross Town will make the perfect host thanks to its ambitious neighbourhood plans and inspiring vision. Our design for Fusion at Brent Cross Town reflects our commitment to creating positive living spaces that enrich and inspire whoever lives within them. We are developing an environment that will make you feel optimistic about your own potential and carve out experiences that give students opportunities for the future. We look forward to welcoming a whole new student community to this exciting area and watching it flourish for many years to come.”
Arron Taggart, Head of UK Investment at Cheyne Real Estate, concluded: “Student accommodation continues to be a resilient asset class and one in which we have considerable experience working, providing high-quality, purpose-built facilities for students across Europe. We are pleased to be furthering our partnership with Fusion to deliver this new development, which will be our sixth project together.”
-ends-
About Brent Cross Town
Brent Cross Town is the neighbourhood at the heart of the Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration programme. It is a joint venture between Related Argent and Barnet Council to develop a large-scale mixed-use development including new homes, retail and office space, as well as improved schools and greenspaces in the area. Early work started on site in early 2020 and construction is also underway on the new Brent Cross West station which will be completed by the end of 2022. Building on the strengths of this diverse part of the city, Brent Cross Town will draw inspiration from the best of London’s long-established neighbourhoods with all their complexity and character.
At its heart, will be a focus on sport, play, health and well-being. The new neighbourhood will provide 6,700 homes, state-of-the-art workspace for over 25,000 people, and pedestrian friendly streets and squares with local shops and restaurants that will complement the offer at Brent Cross Shopping Centre. The community will be supported by first-class public transport infrastructure, a new and improved network of walking and cycle routes and a series of new parks and other amenities. www.brentcrosstown.co.uk @brentcrosstown
Related Argent is making four significant pledges for Brent Cross Town:
- To create the place in London to participate in sport and play: with indoor facilities and 50 acres of parks, Brent Cross Town will provide the best of both traditional and emerging sports, working with leading sports organisations, governing bodies and hero ambassadors to help drive female participation and champion diversity and inclusion.
- To make a new North London town where all can flourish. Brent Cross Town will launch a Flourishing Index which will pioneer the measurement of how individuals and communities flourish in a town centre. Partnering with Manchester University and Buro Happold, this approach represents a landmark moment in designing a development for mental health and wellbeing and demonstrates that Brent Cross Town is at the forefront of people-centred design.
- To be a net zero carbon town by 2030 at the latest. This will be achieved by driving down the embodied carbon in buildings and infrastructure, the carbon used in energy supply and offsetting the remainder. Partnering with Vattenfall, Brent Cross Town will deliver reliable and affordable zero carbon heating to homes, shops and businesses.
- To strengthen existing connections, both locally and into Central London; connecting businesses, customers, friends and family. Brent Cross Town is in an enviable location – 12 minutes to Central London, immediate access to the M1 and 5 major airports within one hour. Locally, new pedestrian and cycle routes will integrate Brent Cross Town with its surrounding communities.
About Related Argent
Related Argent brings together an extraordinary blend of complementary skills, access to global capital and unrivalled technical and delivery experience. Related Argent generates superior returns for all stakeholders by developing for the long-term. Argent, the respected developer with a track record in creating exemplar new pieces of UK cities including King’s Cross, joined forces in March 2015 with Related, the most prominent privately-owned real estate firm in the United States responsible for Hudson Yards. The company has a £8 Bn+ development pipeline in London which includes the delivery of two major regeneration schemes featuring over 7,900 homes, over 3 million sqft of office space, 50 acres of parks and playing fields, as well as retail, leisure, student accommodation and schools, both highly accessible from new and improved public transport connections. It is currently working in a joint venture with Barnet Council on London’s 180-acre Brent Cross Town development, with the London Borough of Haringey for the Tottenham Hale redevelopment and is progressing other opportunities in London including a build-to-rent development in King’s Cross.
Related Argent – UK property developer – Discover Extraordinary (argentllp.co.uk)
About Fusion
The Fusion brand exists to create thoughtful spaces, places and homes that enrich, enhance and inspire whoever lives within them.
It is student accommodation Designed for Positive Living.
Everything we do has been thoughtfully considered to help students get the most out of their experience. From beautifully design living and study spaces to the unrivalled facilities and focus on wellbeing and sustainability. All of it is to take our students one step close to where they want to be.
From bricks and mortar to homes and communities, Fusion is a family-owned business that aims to redefine the student accommodation sector in a positive way.
Fusion at Brent Cross is a landmark development for the brand and its first in London. The building will provide 662 thoughtfully designed private rooms and an inspirational social space that reflects the quality of the Brent Cross Town model. The unrivalled Fusion design is inspired by nature and encourages diversity and a culture of possibility.
