Bus maintenance site

The land on which the Chiswick Business Park was built had been owned by the Rothschild family and planted as orchards in the 19th century.^[1] In 1921, the London General Omnibus Company opened a 33-acre bus maintenance facility on a site bounded by Chiswick High Road to the south, the North London line to the east and the Piccadilly line to the north.^[2] At its peak it employed 3,500 men, by 1985 it was down to 700.^[3] It was closed by London Regional Transport in 1990.^[4]

Design and construction

In 1990–1991, architects Terry Farrell & Partners designed a master plan for a Stanhope and Trafalgar House consortium for the site with buildings designed by Foster Associates and Peter Foggo around the main piazza, and others by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and ABK Architects around a smaller square to one side.^[5][6][7][8] Outline planning permission was granted in 1991 for 11 buildings to be built.^[9]

In 1996, Kværner took ownership of the site, selling it in 1999 to the Chiswick Park Unit Trust led by Schroders and Aberdeen Property Investors with Stanhope as development manager.^[10] Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners was commissioned to prepare a new master plan. The first building was completed at the Chiswick High Road end in December 2000 with a further 11 built in stages, the last being completed in September 2015.^[7] Buildings range in height from four to twelve floors.^[11]

The Chiswick Park Unit Trust sold the park to the Blackstone Group in January 2011.^[12][13] Blackstone sold the property to China Investment Corporation in January 2014.^[14][15] Blackstone retained ownership of building 7, until selling it in February 2020 to Stanhope, while building 8 is owned by Abrdn.^[16][17]

Footbridge

Chiswick Park Footbridge, to the north of the Gunnersbury Triangle Nature Reserve, was opened in January 2019 to connect the business park with Chiswick Park tube station.^[18]