A Borough building could be bulldozed and turned into over 1,000 student flats and a museum if plans are approved.
Student accommodation giant Greystar had previous planning permission to turn Capital House, on the corner of Weston Street and St Thomas Street, into a 31-storey student housing tower known as The Quill.
But Kohn Pedersen Fox architects has now drawn up new plans for the site, which include 1,025 “high-quality ensuite student rooms” – and a permanent home for the Migration Museum.
The Migration Museum Project is currently based at The Workshop, in Lambeth.
If plans are approved, it would move into the ground floor of the new building and become Britain’s first national museum dedicated to how the movement of people to and from the country over the centuries has shaped who we are as individuals and a nation.
Greystar says it will also “enhance” the area immediately around the site, open the building up to locals and visitors, and provide off-site affordable housing.
The plans are expected to be submitted in February and, if approved, Capital House would be demolished in October.
Construction work would take place “during normal working hours” from January 2019 to August 2022, with the building and museum opening in September 2022.
Michela Hancock, senior development director for Greystar, said: “Greystar is excited to be bringing forward these innovative proposals in an important and historic part of Southwark.
“This scheme will combine student-living with a permanent home for the Migration Museum.
“In addition, we will improve the public realm around the site and make the front of the building more accessible to the public.
“Greystar is a long-term operator focused on designing and building schemes that benefit communities well into the future.
“This is why we are proud to be working in partnership with the Migration Museum as they look to create a permanent home for their much-valued national project.”