The Romford scheme features a 81,000 sq ft Morrisons superstore on stilts with 400 car-parking facilities, a petrol station and around 70 homes, including 25 family houses.
It will be built on the site of a former ice rink on Rom Valley Way, which has now been demolished to allow construction to start in May.
The landmark superstore is expected to cost around £25m. Its design features an undulating roof and large digital clock on both the north and south facades.
On the north side of the site are one, two and three bedroom terraced housing and an apartment building.
Turner & Townsend are project manager and PQS, with B:ssec delivering building services consultancy and BSCP on board as structural engineer.
The development is part of a broader scheme that includes building a new ice-rink and swimming pool leisure centre, partially funded from the sale of the old ice-rink site.
This will be built on the Mercury Gardens site in Romford town centre