The elements of the Stratford City development to be undertaken by Lend Lease include the Olympic Village for the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games and the bulk of the scheme's legacy housing, commercial and hotel development.

 

Westfield will undertake all development of Stratford City Zone 1, lying between Stratford International Station and the existing town centre.

 

Zone 1 is the heart of the new metropolitan centre and will include retail, residential, leisure, hotel and offices.

 

The Lend Lease consortium includes East Thames Group, First Base and Crosby Lend Lease.

 

Lend Lease fought off strong competition from a consortium of Barratt and Bouygues.

 

The original short-list was drawn up following strong bidding through the OJEU process.

 

ODA chief executive David Higgins said: "This is another important step forward in delivering our vision for the Olympic Park.

 

"Lend Lease has emerged as the strongest candidate for the element of the Stratford City Development which will house the athletes for the Games and deliver vital housing for the new community after 2012. Working with our partners at LCR we will now carry on discussions with them on an exclusive basis and I am confident we will sign terms of agreement with them in the coming weeks.” 

 

Lend Lease were also involved in building the Olympic Village for the 2000 Sydney Games when Higgins worked for the firm.

 

But he left them shortly afterwards and has not had any association with them for several years now.

 

Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee, said: "The village will be a major part of how the Olympic and Paralympic athletes experience London 2012. 

 

"We look forward to be working towards developing a great Olympic village for athletes and a wonderful new residential development in Stratford for future generations.”

 

LCR managing director (stations & property), Stephen Jordan, said: "This announcement demonstrates further significant progress in moving the whole Stratford City scheme forward.

 

"LCR is pleased to be working with all parties, not only to provide essential infrastructure for a successful Games in 2012, but to provide key elements of legacy – the homes and jobs people need.”

 

Westfield managing director UK & Europe, Michael Gutman, said:  "We continue to work with ODA, and LCR, and we look forward to working with Lend Lease to ensure a successful and timely delivery for Stratford City.

 

"In the meantime we are getting on with site preparation and the submission of key planning documents.”

 

Lend Lease Europe chief executive Officer, Nigel Hugill, said: "We are obviously delighted to have reached this stage, along with our partners First Base and East Thames.

 

"Stratford City has been an important focus of my life for most of the last decade and creating a successful and self-supporting Olympic facility has become part of the DNA of Lend Lease.

 

"Attention will inevitably focus on delivering the Olympic Village in the first instance, but the ultimate test for us will be the extent to which Stratford evolves and grows after the athletes have departed. 

 

"The level of investment and the quality of the public transport infrastructure is such that we expect to build more at Stratford after 2012 than before.”

 

London Thames Gateway Development Corporation Chief Executive, Peter Andrews, said: "This is an important step forward which adds further momentum to the delivery of the broader regeneration of the Lower Lea Valley.

 

"Stratford City is a key element in making the area a destination of choice for living, learning, working and relaxing and the London 2012 Games are the catalyst driving this crucial regeneration forward.”

 

Detailed negotiations between LCR, ODA, Lend Lease and Westfield will now be finalised over the next few weeks.

 

Construction work is due to start on site in early 2008 with completion of the Olympic Village in good time for the 2012 Games.