Come and get me

Getting a development underway is a long slog - but if you're trying to sell sites, rather than buy, a certain amount of re-invention can be required to get a good price. So the feature about the sale of Television Centre in today's Guardian is about concept, hope and expectation, rather than a tangible deal.

As long ago as 2005, the BBC and others started work on a White City strategy, realising that by combining sites, a rather grim part of west London might acquire a greater investment value - spurred on by building work on the Westfield Shopping Centre to the south (original planned completion - 1994 !). The development "opportunity", over 42 acres, was slightly bigger than King's Cross, and smaller than Stratford. And that scale needs a brave developer, or a brave consortium of developers to see a potential profit.

So, working with Hammersmith and Fulham Council, Rem Koolhaas was brought in to develop a masterplan that might appeal (Building). In 2008 the masterplan was floated as "Creative London" (Building Design). Today, BBC property boss, Chris Kane, puts some more flesh on how the Television Centre bit of it might work. The overall scheme seems slightly scaled down - 23 acres, and now a "Creative Quarter". But it might be more appealing now Westfield and its improved transport links are actually working.

"The thinking was we couldn't just sell this and leave it to the vagaries of the property market. My worst fear is that it would be sold and end up like Battersea Power Station. It has to be something different".