to Wandsworth , it will mark the end of a more than 200-year association with Grosvenor Square , in the historic and exclusive neighborhood of Mayfair near Hyde Park . John Adams , who later became U.S. president , lived on the square from 1785 to 1788 , when he was the first U.S. minister to the Court of St. James . The building in which he lived still stands in the square 's northeast corner . The embassy moved to various locations in the West End before returning to Grosvenor Square in 1938 . For years , it occupied a building on the east side of the square -- a building that now houses the Canadian High Commission . During World War II , the square was known as `` Little America '' because the embassy was on one side and Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower 's headquarters were on the other . The embassy moved to its current site , occupying the entire west side of the square , when the building was completed in 1960 . The concrete , four-story structure was designed by Eero Saarinen , who also designed the Gateway Arch in St. Louis , Missouri
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The U.S. State Department has sold its London embassy building to a Qatari real estate company , the embassy announced Tuesday . The signing of the deal is another major step in the embassy 's plans to relocate from its longtime headquarters in central London to a new site in Wandsworth , on the south bank of the River Thames . It was n't immediately clear how much Qatari Diar Real Estate paid for the embassy building in Grosvenor Square , whose 1960s facade was recently given listed status , meaning its design ca n't be changed . The embassy will continue to operate from the current building until the new one is completed in 2016 or 2017 , the embassy said . Construction is expected to begin in 2012 or 2013 . It was a year ago that the embassy announced it was looking for a new site that is more modern , open , and secure than the current building in London 's West End . It has now settled on a site in Wandsworth and is having a design competition for the new building . When the embassy does move