Southbank housing and retail development is nearing completion as a new cultural hub.

One Tower Bridge is coming closer to completion as Duchess Walk opens. The project, controlled by Berkeley Homes, to open in summer 2017, is being marketed as a way of reinvigorating the area next to Tower Bridge.

Dubbed a ‘new street for London’ by Berkeley Homes, Duchess Walk is the main area of the multi million-pound development project called One Tower Bridge. Berkeley Homes went on to announced that famous West End restaurant The Ivy, popular with theatre goers, will be opening a brasserie. This follows the news of the newly formed London Theatre Company’s (lead by Sir Nicholas Hytner and Nick Starr CBE) 900 seat performance space and headquarters to be built in the development, with desire to bring new elements of culture to the area which is a prime tourist hotspot.

With completion expected for summer 2017, the development project will bring 200 new jobs, 80,000 square feet of cultural space made of 14 new leisure and retail units and 1 acre of ‘public realm’.

In a statement, Mayor of London Boris Johnson said “Bringing two of the most respected names in British theatre to this part of South London is fantastic news. Their well-deserved reputation and The London Theatre Company’s location will ensure it becomes a magnet for theatregoers and other culture lovers.”

Berkeley Homes released a statement explaining their desire to bring “vibrant purpose to the area surrounding one of the most iconic London landmarks”. Berkeley Homes expect One Tower Bridge to be “the Covent Garden of the Southbank” through open courtyards and retail spaces. With prices ranging from £1.45m to £14.5m, One Tower Bridge is expected to be an exclusive and business orientated area. Local barman James Tull, 25, believes: “The project will bring a lot more retail to the area, to make it busier with more residents and businessmen. I’m not sure if it will make the area feel more residential though, I feel like it might make it more exclusive and posh.”

Controversy has hit One Tower Bridge recently, as it was discovered that 43 affordable homes being built in the area would be denied access to the communal private garden. After enquiring to Berkeley Homes, they declined any explanation, expressing “we no longer wish to comment on this issue.”

The development at One Tower Bridge can be seen as part of a regeneration of London Bridge, with the station itself going through major renovations to bring 75m passengers in 2018, Kings College London’s plans to open a Science Gallery in the Boland House wing of Guy’s Hospital and Tate Modern adding a large new space to develop London Bridge, Southwark and the Southbank.