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US Embassy could be most expensive flats in the world
Mira Bar-Hillel and Danny Brierley03.10.08
The Candy brothers want to convert the US Embassy site in Grosvenor Square into luxury flats after the American Ambassador announced it was moving to south London, the Standard has learned.
Christian and Nick Candy want to develop 20 and 24 Grosvenor Square and are putting a proposal together.
The British businessmen are believed to have put their so-called "F1 planning team" on the project in a bid to secure the site, considered one of the world's most expensive real estate opportunities.
The revelation came after US Ambassador Robert Tuttle announced the embassy would be moving from Grosvenor Square to Nine Elms, Battersea.
The existing building will be offered for sale almost immediately, although the deal requires the approval of US Congress and planning authorities in Britain.
It is welcome news for Mayfair residents, who claimed their lives were at risk from a possible terrorist attack.
A bidding war is now set to ensue for the highly lucrative Grosvenor Square site. A source close to Candy & Candy said: "The company is currently drawing up plans to put in a bid for the US Embassy site. It is a prime location and would add to their multi-billion pound London property portfolio."
The move could take up to five years and any redevelopment would not be without complications. English Heritage is known to be considering a listing, but declined to comment. The council and residents are unlikely to want any commercial premises, which could rule out a luxury hotel. Three of its nine floors are underground, a detail which could be resolved by architects but adds to the complexity of the task.
Until the future of the site is agreed, it is impossible to put a price tag on what could be one of the most valuable pieces of land in the world.
The council's deputy leader, Robert Davis, said: "We will be sorry to see the US Embassy leave, but we understand their desire to be in a more secure compound."
Councillor Glenys Roberts said the best use for the site was top-quality flats. She added: "Once they are gone - and we're not out of the woods until they have actually made the move - we believe that the area must revert to its residential origins." It is the second biggest US Embassy in the world. There are 600 rooms and 225,000 square feet of office space for the 750 people who work there.
The Candy brothers own 20 acres of prime real estate in central London, most of it in Westminster, as well as some of the world's most sought-after addresses in Qatar, Monaco and Beverly Hills under the investment arm of their operation, CPC Group.
The brothers are behind Britain's most expensive home property deal: the £959million Chelsea Barracks redevelopment they are carrying out in partnership with the Qatari government.
The 12.8-acre site is the most valuable residential plot to be redeveloped, at £75million an acre.
It dwarfs the £150 million the brothers paid in 2004 for One Hyde Park in Knightsbridge.
They also have plans to turn the former Middlesex Hospital, north of Oxford Street, into an apartment and commercial complex worth about £1.5billion.
The developers' portfolio is valued at about £9billion, with One Hyde Park set to generate another £2billion.
A spokesman for the Candy brothers said: "We continually look at prime asset opportunities across the globe but cannot comment on specific deals."
