LONDON-A south London council has invited bids from commercial developers for a euro 2.2-billion ($2.9-billion) regeneration scheme at Elephant & Castle.

Plans drawn up by Southwark Council include the demolition of the borough's landmark retail complex with its distinctive pink elephant icon, to be replaced with shops, offices and homes on a 170-acre site. Up to 5,300 homes in two landmark residential towers will be built around 800,000 sf of mixed use. The plan will see new shops, cafe and restaurants and a civic space the size of Trafalgar Square. Heygate Street will be transformed into a 40-meter-wide tree-lined avenue called Heygate Boulevard.

Ken Shuttleworth, one of the architects behind London's "Gherkin" building, has been appointed to oversee detailed urban design work.

Southwark council, which owns about 80% of the land on the proposed site, hopes to select the preferred bidder by the end of the year. Among the firms competing for the contract is Multiplex, the Australian company behind the new Wembley Stadium, and Westfield. Canary Wharf has also indicated that it sees Elephant & Castle as potentially its first big development foray out of its home base in Docklands. Rival bidders are housebuilder Berkeley Group and American developer Hines.

Other firms such as Hammerson and Land Securities are believed to have decided against bidding for the project. Prospective bidders are concerned that St Modwen, the property company which owns the existing Elephant and Castle shopping center, may have an unfair advantage. But Elephant & Castle development director Chris Horn says, "Land ownership is not going to be a requirement for emerging successfully from the bidding process."