Dominvs Group abandons ‘London’s greenest building’ Holborn Viaduct hotel plans for student accommodation

Dominvs Group has received planning permission to transform 65 Viaduct in London’s Holborn into student accommodation, having originally planned to turn it into a 382-bedroom hotel.

The group put the site up for sale in 2020 after receiving “a number of unofficial approaches from interested purchasers”.

Dominvs had planned to transform the site into what it described as "London's greenest building", featuring a 3,700 sq m green wall, anticipated to be the largest in Europe. The developer claimed the wall would generate seven tonnes of oxygen and extract nine tonnes of CO2 in a year. The 207,754 sq ft mixed-use scheme was to include workspace and both a ‘skybar' and a public rooftop viewing gallery.

The property will instead become a 644-bed student accommodation scheme for the London School of Economics (LSE), with a ground floor cultural and performance space in partnership with the Creative Land Trust. It will still have a public roof terrace, an on-site cafe/bar, cinema room, music rooms, games area and gym, and will target BREEAM Excellent rating and has been designed to reduce operational carbon emissions.

Jay Ahluwalia, director at Dominvs Group, said: “From extensive consultation with the City Corporation and key local stakeholders we sought fresh thinking, submitting a scheme that enriches the existing neighbourhood while meeting the need for purpose-built student accommodation in the area.”

Dominvs Group owns 12 hotels including the Dixon hotel in London's Tower Bridge, Holiday Inn Manchester, Motto by Hilton London Marylebone, Crowne Plaza Aberdeen Airport, Premier Inn Milton Keynes City Centre and Courtyard by Marriott York City Centre.