Boris Johnson opens restored London square after £160m investment by Imperial College London
A newly restored square in the heart of London’s cultural quarter is officially opened today by Mayor of London Boris Johnson. The £160 million investment in Prince’s Gardens, South Kensington, by Imperial College London has seen the construction of seven new halls of residence and a state of the art sports centre, plus the landscaping of the Gardens themselves.
During his visit, the Mayor will tour one of the new halls and meet students living there, who will demonstrate their culinary skills for him in one of the communal kitchens. He will then open the square with a speech and the unveiling of a plaque.
Work on the square began in 2002 and has included demolishing out-dated student accommodation, built in the 1960s, and replacing it with modern buildings that house over 800 students and are designed to fit in aesthetically with the local area. The Gardens have been landscaped with new pathways and plane trees, and the original railings and decorative central urn have been returned. The work was completed in summer 2009, in time for the final halls of residence to welcome their first students in October …