Soho Estates has long played a custodial role in Soho, investing not only in its commercial portfolio but also in the surrounding streets and spaces. The redevelopment of the former Foyles site into Ilona Rose House created 300,000 sq ft of mixed-use space, including new offices, creative studios and hospitality units. It also introduced James Court, a new mews linking Greek Street to Charing Cross Road via Manette Street, with outdoor dining terraces and active ground floor frontages.

Building on this, Soho Estates extended the public realm uplift along Manette Street and commissioned Doodle Architects and lighting specialists Foundry to restore the Grade I listed Chapel of the House of St Barnabas.

SCOPE OF WORKS

Ilona Rose House (MATT Architecture, completed 2021):
Major new office-led building with terraces and subterranean creative space for film industry occupier.
• Public realm contribution: Creation of James Court, a new pedestrian mews lined with cafés and restaurants with outdoor dining terraces, providing permeability from Greek Street to Charing Cross Road.
• Manette Street Improvements to Streetscape: Carriageway replaced with Yorkstone paving and granite setts, creating a shared-surface, pedestrian-priority environment.
o New planting, upgraded street lighting, and cycle stands introduced to soften the streetscape and support active travel.
o Works coordinated with a new lay-by on Charing Cross Road to manage servicing and deliveries without undermining the pedestrian character of Manette Street.
o New pedestrian walkways to open up previously inaccessible parts of the site and create safe, direct connections between Soho and Tottenham Court Road station.

13 Manette Street (Doodle Architecture, completed 2023):
• Building refurbishment: recladding and refurbishment of a 1960s office block at 13 Manette Street, with a new rooftop garden and ground floor bar (Three Sheets).

Chapel of the House of St Barnabas (Doodle Architecture and lighting consultants Foundry London, completed 2025)
• The Grade I listed chapel of the House of St Barnabas: new paving, walls and railings, and sensitive lighting restoration. A landmark site steeped in history; the chapel featured in Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities
o Concealed linear LEDs graze the stone and window reveals.
o Stained glass softly backlit to bring colour and presence after dark.


OUTCOMES

• Placemaking value: The Ilona Rose House scheme demonstrate how targeted investment can combine commercial value, public realm improvement, and heritage stewardship.
• Physical interventions: High-quality paving, planting, lighting and street furniture have created a safe and attractive environment, while the Charing Cross Road lay-by balances servicing needs with the pedestrian-first character of the street.
• Heritage & character: Restoration of the Grade I listed Chapel has reasserted its role as a local landmark, connecting historic Soho with its contemporary creative economy.
• Vibrancy & activation: The refurbished 13 Manette Street, with rooftop garden and cocktail bar, complements James Court’s food and beverage offer, further animating the eastern gateway into Soho.
• Pedestrian permeability: The new walkways, open mews and decluttered carriageway ensure that Manette Street is no longer a back alley but a well-used pedestrian route into Soho, integrated with the wider Ilona Rose House public realm.

Images by doodlearchitecture.com