Merrick Real Estate is to develop out a unique site in one of London’s trendiest districts at 92-96 Curtain Road, Shoreditch, EC2A. Curtain Road is one of London’d oldest thoroughfares and has long been known as the heart of the city’s original furniture and upholstery trades which supplied the mansions and fine town houses of Georgian and Victorian London.
Number 96 dates from the mid-1800’s and numbers 92-94 from the early 1900’s, and historical records show that wood turners and timber merchants Phillip Barnett and Josifon & Company were based there.
To the rear of the site at 4-6 New Inn Broadway is another wonderful piece of London heritage – the original site of the Shakespeare theatre dating from 1576, which has recently been developed into an exhibition and flexible modern workspace studios. The new Theatre development has uncovered and protected the foundation fragments of the original theatre for posterity and public viewing. Given that the footprint of the original theatre partially overlaps the rear of the Curtain Road site, similar investigative works and any necessary and protection will be carried out within the development programme.
Curtain Road and the surrounding Shoreditch locale have seen a number of creative and imaginative developments over recent years including the Curtain Hotel, and the development at 92-96 is expected consist of a combination high quality residential apartments designed for flexible home working, and commercial space at street level. Merrick initial focus will be on addressing specific site issues and securing planning permission for the proposed development, harnessing the heritage of the site and working closely with its architects and Hackney Borough Council.