IKEA is to build a mini city in Stratford, just outside the Olympic Park in East London. It will feature 480,000 square feet of office space and a 350-bedroom hotel stuffed by the life improvement company’s products.

Photo: www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

Strand East in Stratford, located to the south of the Olympic Park, will be the first major British development of LandProp, the London-based investment firm of the IKEA, says The Huffington Post. The mini city is expected to be the second largest private investment in the Olympic Park after Westfield Stratford City shopping centre.

It’s planned to build 1,200 new homes, almost half of which will have at least three bedrooms. The new offices, a hotel, cafes and restaurants will also appear along the car-free walkways. The 9.34 acres of land were purchased directly from the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), which believes that it would be “a significant investment in the area by a major international player”.

Harald Muller, Managing Director of LandProp, said: “We are hugely excited to be bringing forward these plans, we see Strand East as a place for families which contributes to the regeneration of Stratford and takes its place alongside the many neighborhoods of London.”

The neighborhood will be surrounded by two waterways. Residents will be able to enjoy ‘little Venice’ by using water taxi service and a floating cocktail bar, said the investors. Cars are to be parked underground to create an idyllic-looking site. Rubbish utilization foresees an underground tunnel system. A school, health surgery and nursery will also be on site.

Strand East house prices are still not known but IKEA claims it would be affordable. Though there’s no planning permission yet, IKEA hopes to begin construction in 2013. A public consultation will begin soon.

Currently, IKEA is running ‘The Life Improvement Project’ in the USA.