A joint venture agreement has just been signed between Britain's Crown Estate and Canada's Oxford Properties. The venture would redevelop the St. James's Market district in London with a value of about GBP320 million or US$483 million.

The Crown Estate is the property management company handling the Queen's portfolio and the joint venture is a 50% equal partnership between the two firms. Each company would own 150 year leasehold interests in two blocks straddling Regent Street and the Haymarket district in central London. 

The owners of Oxford Properties is the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and is one of the largest public pension funds of Canada.

The plan is for the redevelopment of the St James Market area in accordance with the ten year plan of the Crown Estate. The area, once fully refurbished, would provide 210,000 square feet of prime office with 50,000 square feet of space for retail and commercial stores. 

One of the limitations of the Crown Estate is that it is not allowed to absorb debt. It also previously signed a joint venture for the redevelopment of the Regent Street shopping belt with a US$660 billion oil fund of Norway. The Crown Estate owns about four million square feet of space in the St James District.