The owner of the Westfield London White City shopping centre has set out plans to turn the House of Fraser store there into a co-working space in a bid to create a more mixed-use destination.
The plans are at an early stage, but applications have been filed to Hammersmith and Fulham Council to convert around two-thirds of the four-floor, 104,000 sq ft premises into WeWork-style spaces, Estates Gazette first reported.
The rest of the space will remain dedicated to retail.
Westfield does not have a partner for the plan as yet and is considering launching the space itself if no alternative is found.
In the meantime, the House of Fraser store reopened its doors to the public this week and will continue to operate.
The conversion is part of an initiative led by Westfield UK regional managing director Scott Parsons, who took on the role in November, to drive the mixed-use potential of Westfield properties. It would also address a lack of co-working space in the locality.
Co-working space would be a further move by Westfield away from traditional shopping centres – it is also seeking approval to introduce “an interactive family experience” in three vacant shop spaces on the first floor.
The Westfield Debenhams store is to be converted into a Harrods outlet, leaving John Lewis and Marks & Spencer as the primary anchors at White City.
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