UCL acquires new space on Hampstead Road

UCL has agreed terms with Derwent London (DL) to acquire new office and warehouse space at 132-140 Hampstead Road, just north of Euston Road and the university's historic main campus. UCL has also taken on a lease for the adjacent space, currently used as a petrol station. UCL's lease on the property will run from March 2013 until September 2018. UCL plans for the space include rehousing The Bartlett School of Architecture during the two-year refurbishment of its Wates House home and rehousing the Bartlett's model making and workshop activities from their current temporary home at the Royal Ear Hospital. Hampstead Road will also help meet other demand for space while UCL progresses with its ongoing Bloomsbury Masterplan, which aims to develop and improve the university's estate to ensure it best meets the needs of a modern university. Hampstead is currently empty, but was previously used by UCL as warehouse space. The planned High Speed 2 rail link (HS2) will eventually pass through the site after expiry of UCL's lease, but should HS2 be delayed there will be an option for UCL to extend the lease beyond 2018.