Arada London submits plans for first co-living scheme and hotel in Elephant & Castle

Mixed-use scheme on site of former Salvation Army UK & Ireland HQ will create connected 24/7 community in one of London’s most dynamic districts.

Arada London, part of UAE master-developer Arada with a pipeline of 17,000 homes in the capital, has submitted plans to London Borough of Southwark for a mixed-use development blending co-living, a hotel and workspace in Elephant & Castle.

Located at 101 Newington Causeway, previously the headquarters for The Salvation Army UK & Ireland Territory, the development will be Arada’s first co-living development globally, underlining its commitment to delivering dynamic urban neighbourhoods featuring homes of all types.

Designed by PLP Architecture, the scheme is set across two distinctive buildings that will deliver 720 new co-living homes arranged as a vertical village with shared amenities including dining, social and wellbeing spaces, alongside a 404-bed hotel for business and leisure travellers.

Both buildings have been designed with a concrete facade that responds to the industrial character of Elephant & Castle with the stepped profile in keeping with the area’s emerging skyline. The development will be active and accessible at street level, with the co-living building featuring a cafe and a co-working hub of over 9,000 sqft for local start-ups and freelancers, and the hotel featuring a dynamic open-plan lobby and all-day dining.

The two buildings will be connected by gardens and landscaped spaces and create new pedestrian routes to the Elephant & Castle station and town centre.

The application has been submitted in collaboration with The Salvation Army, with Arada London acquiring the site in in December 2025 subject to planning consent.

Steve Harrington, Planning Director, Arada London, said:

“Our proposed plans for the site at 101 Newington Causeway will deliver high-quality homes, a hotel and range of workspaces, cafes and meeting places for residents, visitors and Elephant & Castle’s thriving community of start-ups and independent workers.

“This will be Arada’s first co-living scheme globally as we continue to evolve how we deliver dynamic and connected neighbourhoods that respond to local need and modern lifestyles. London as a city has embraced new types of living and we look forward to working with local stakeholders, the community and our partners to bring this cutting-edge project forward.”

Andrei Martin, Partner, PLP Architecture said:

“101 Newington Causeway brings together a set of urban ingredients that are often kept separate – living, working, hospitality, landscape and public life – to create an ecosystem for contemporary city life. The ambition is for these different uses to overlap and reinforce one another, creating a place that feels active and connected throughout the day. At street level, we open the ground floor to create a generous green public realm, while above the buildings are configured as a family of slender volumes, creating spaces for terraces and shared spaces and bringing life into the skyline. This will create a connected, varied and engaging way of living in the city.”