Property values are projected to soar in the new Elizabeth Line corridor of London’s Crossrail underground project. Another case for value capture! Read on…
Elizabeth Line delivery to top original forecasts on new homes created with property values expected to soar
Rebecca Smith
CITY A.M. NEWSLETTERS
30 January 2018
Excerpt:
The number of homes and jobs created due to the development of the £14.8bn Elizabeth Line is set to greatly surpass expectations, according to a new report by commercial property agency GVA.
The research, commissioned by Crossrail, found that the impact of the new railway on the creation of new homes and impact on property value, is set to be significantly greater than GVA originally predicted in a 2012 report.
GVA expects 90,599 new homes along the route by 2021 – higher than the 57,000 new homes predicted in the previous report. Once the Elizabeth Line is fully operational, the report forecasts 180,000 new homes being created by 2026.
GVA also expects a £10.6bn increase in property values within 1km of an Elizabeth Line station by 2021. Value forecasts and property market trends indicate that Crossrail’s contribution will rise in the run up to, and years following, the opening of the Elizabeth Line.
Also, by 2026 Crossrail could create up to £20.1bn in additional residential property value, with average value increases along the route of 29 per cent ahead of baseline forecasts.
The report says the new railway will help underling London’s status as a global city, allowing for the accommodation of 300,000 new jobs, with over 4.4m square metres of commercial office and retail space expected along the route by 2021.
Comment:
In 2009, London initiated construction of Crossrail, one of the largest rail infrastructure projects in Europe. The Elizabeth Line, the first part of the network, is scheduled to open in December 2018. More than 200 million passengers are projected to use Crossrail in its first year of operation in 2019. Crossrail has spurred urban regeneration across its network of 40 stations, and for that reason is well positioned for using value capture by appropriating land value increases to help finance public infrastructure and along the transit corridor. “Crossrail’s contribution will rise in the run up to the opening of the Elizabeth Line.” This makes the case for implementing value capture at the time the network plans are announced.
