An event held today in London will see the Olympic Village site in Stratford, East London, handed over from Locog to the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) six months before the Games officially kick off. The project includes 62 buildings, 3,000 apartments, a polyclinic and a school, with residential units located in 11 towers anchored by generous courtyards, gardens and balconies.

ODA Chairman John Armitt detailed: “The Olympic and Paralympic Village has been built by companies from every part of the UK, working together to ensure it was completed on time and overcoming the challenges posed by the credit crunch and economic downturn. We will be finishing and landscaping as winter turns into spring, and then returning after the Games to complete the transformation to create new homes for Londoners.”

Post-Games the Village will be converted into a mixture of affordable and private housing under the blanket title ‘East Village’, with new residents able to make use of the general amenities previously intended for the world’s athletic elite, including a café, general store, bank, beauty salon, internet lounge and entertainment centre. John Nicholson, of the ODA told the BBC: “The idea is to try and ensure that we’re combining the requirements of the athletes during the Games with the requirements of the local community in the legacy after the Games.”