Anupriya Rajpal, development director at Dominus, is transforming leadership in real estate, a field where women hold few top posts. Leading a seven-person unit that delivers London’s most significant purpose-built student accommodation projects, she oversees housing, heritage preservation, sustainability initiatives, and community engagement.
Currently, her team manages three major developments totaling 2,300 student beds. The largest, 65 Crutched Friars, a 21-story building opening in 2027, will span 283,543 square feet—the company’s tallest structure to date. The project also houses the Migration Museum, which received a 60-year lease without rent payments. Rajpal connects this placement to her own journey from India to the UK in 2005.
The scheme features a public courtyard, a terrace on the 19th floor, and energy-efficient systems like solar panels and air-source heat pumps. It aims for a BREEAM Outstanding certification, setting a standard for sustainable urban living.
Another project, 65 Fleet Street, repurposes an office building into an 875-bed student accommodation while restoring a grade II-listed pub and improving access to the historic Whitefriars Crypt. The third scheme, 65 Holborn Viaduct, sits above an active Network Rail tunnel and includes 35% affordable housing, wellness areas, and artist studios through a partnership with the Creative Land Trust.
Diversity as a Risk-Management Strategy
Rajpal’s leadership approach centers on diversity, arguing that varied perspectives enhance problem-solving. “I am a firm believer that having a diverse team is the best thing from a risk management perspective, because people with different experiences, exposure and skillsets perceive and react to a problem in their own way,” she says. “With all those varied voices, we can then form a project implementation plan and decide what the next steps are going to be.”
Her career path mirrors this philosophy. A chartered architect with 16 years of experience, she began in New Delhi before moving through roles at firms like Gaursons India and ERA Landmark. Since joining Dominus in 2019, she now oversees teams where women occupy three of seven senior positions, including Zoe Huang as senior development manager.
One notable example is Monita Kaur, who started as a receptionist and advanced to assistant development manager after overseeing a 234-room Hilton hotel near the Tower of London. Rajpal attributes Dominus’s culture to such growth, emphasizing the need for “offering support as needed, flexibility as needed, and building a support system.”
The team’s work embodies Dominus’s broader mission. Together, they aim to create projects that combine housing, heritage restoration, sustainability, and community support.
Heritage and Sustainability Redefine Urban Projects
Her focus on sustainability, heritage, and inclusion applies to every project. At 65 Holborn Viaduct, the design prioritizes pollinator-friendly plants and water recycling systems. The scheme’s engineering challenges—constructing over a live rail tunnel—required years of collaboration, but Rajpal highlights it as a teamwork achievement: “But together as a team, after multiple design iterations and engineering communications, we have finally managed to complete that section of the work.”
The Migration Museum’s move into 65 Crutched Friars represents a rare case of a cultural institution securing long-term, rent-free space within a commercial development. The museum’s migration narratives align with Rajpal’s background, though she avoids linking her leadership directly to personal experience. Instead, she notes how such partnerships reflect Dominus’s commitment to civic value in urban projects.
The museum’s placement reflects a trend in London’s real estate sector, where developers increasingly blend heritage and public use into high-density schemes. At 65 Fleet Street, the restoration of the grade II-listed Tipperary pub, originally a 19th-century coaching inn, required specialist conservation to preserve its original timber beams and stained-glass windows. The pub’s reopening as a student hub, alongside improved access to the Whitefriars Crypt, has earned praise from the City of London Corporation for revitalizing an overlooked historic site.
The 65 Holborn Viaduct project’s partnership with the Creative Land Trust adds another layer of community integration. The 8,000 square feet of affordable artist studios, roughly half the size of a standard NBA basketball court, will host residencies and workshops, with proceeds supporting local creatives. The trust’s involvement stemmed from Dominus identifying a gap in London’s arts infrastructure, particularly for early-career artists.
Engineering Feats Over Live Rail Tunnels
The project’s engineering challenges, building over an operational Network Rail tunnel, pushed conventional methods to their limits. Dominus collaborated with Arup and Network Rail to develop a hybrid foundation system combining deep piles with reinforced concrete slabs to minimize vibrations. The solution required extensive testing and real-time monitoring of tunnel integrity, with construction proceeding while the tunnel remained open.
Beyond physical infrastructure, the team has integrated sustainability into daily operations. At 65 Holborn Viaduct, a water recycling system processes up to 20,000 liters daily, repurposing stormwater and greywater for irrigation and toilet flushing. The scheme’s BREEAM Excellent target was met through passive design, such as triple-glazed windows, and active systems like heat recovery units. Pollinator-friendly landscaping, including native wildflowers on terraces, was chosen with input from the London Wildlife Trust.
The team’s sustainability efforts extend to procurement, with 40% of materials at all three schemes sourced within 50 miles of London.
Her emphasis on team diversity serves as a risk-mitigation strategy for complex projects. The seven-person leadership group includes specialists in structural engineering, student accommodation operations, and heritage conservation, areas where gender gaps persist. Rajpal cites internal data showing mixed-gender teams achieve 15% faster planning approvals, though she clarifies this is based on Dominus’s own records rather than external studies.
