The three-storey site aims to attract Muslims who live, work and visit the area.
Long-time Londoners will remember the West End’s Trocadero as an entertainment centre. Now, the billionaire Asif Aziz is revamping it into a mosque and community centre, and here’s what you need to know.
In 2005, Aziz Foundation bought the landmark for £220 million. Now, Westminster City Council has granted permission for it to be a three-storey community facility, which will be able to accommodate up to 390 worshippers.
Aziz is the chief executive of Criterion Capital and manages a £2 billion property portfolio. Aziz Foundation explained: “Situated in vacant space in the basement of the Trocadero, the centre will provide an indispensable place for the Muslims who work, visit and live in the area and for whom prayer forms a cornerstone of their life. While the centre will provide an area for prayer, it is also anticipated that this development will nurture much-needed interfaith dialogue and in turn bring faith communities and community groups together utilising available space.
“As a foundation, we are proud to support the Piccadilly Community Centre, its prayer space, local community initiatives and interfaith work. British Muslims are part of the fabric of our society and contribute in the most essential and remarkable ways.”
The Trocadero is located near Shaftesbury Avenue and Soho and is close to the world-famous lights of Piccadilly Circus. In 1896, the original site housed a restaurant. In 1965, the restaurant closed, and in 1984, it reopened as an entertainment centre. The complex included SegaWorld London, The Pepsi Max Drop and an IMAX Cinema.
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GO: Visit www.azizfoundation.org.uk for more information.