LONDON | Project Compilation Thread

[wjfox2004]

Broadgate Tower is nearing completion. Here's a skyline view taken by 'Site' on SkyscraperCity -

[jef]

Originally Posted by AJphx

Is that one of those new midrise buildings near Barclays?

It is the empty site between the new State Street HQ nearing completion and Mc GrawHill/BP midrise. The last site available at Churchill Place.

Originally Posted by AJphx

is this project to renovate St Alphage House or demolish the tower and build something new there?

In May last year Hammerson announced together with its partner the City Corporation of London, that it had entered into an exclusivity agreement with JPMorgan Chase to develop a new European headquarters building of around 100,000m2 on the site of St Alphage House, owned by the City Corporation of London. JPMorgan Chase will own the building.

[jef]

On a vote of 4 for and 2 against, the Strategic Dev. Committee resolved to grant planning permission for the construction of the Quebec Building / CW.

[jef]

KF: couple of recent deals in CW:
- the Financial Services Authority took 27,000 sq ft on level 18 of 1 Canada Square.
- Abbey Business Centres took level 37 at 1 Canada Square
- Moody's KMV is currently in advanced negotiations to take 137,000 sqft in 1 Canada Square (under offer).
- De Vere Conferencing completed on 34,700 sq ft at 1 Westferry Circus.

Demand for office space is expected in the coming months to be relatively subdued as recent financial results from a number of major banking sector occupiers in Docklands have shown losses and/or major write-downs.

[wjfox2004]

http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/n...in_croydon.php

Will country's tallest tower block be built in Croydon?

Exclusive By Graham Moody

The Croydon skyline may soon challenge the dizzy heights of New York after one developer revealed he is considering building the country's tallest tower block in the town centre.

The 60-storey building, which will be two floors higher than the country's current highest in Canary Wharf, would be part of a redevelopment of the Whitgift Centre and radically change a skyline already nicknamed mini-Manhattan.

Croydon's current tallest building is the not yet opened Altitude 25 in Fairfield Road, but at just 27 storeys it would be dwarfed by the new tower block.

Howard Holdings, which also developed Altitude 25, has been planning the shopping centre's regeneration for the past 18 months and expects to have a planning application in by the end of March.

The company bought the 11-acre, 93,000 sq ft, site in a joint venture with Anglo Irish Bank.

Chief executive Greg Coughlan said: "We are planning a complete redevelopment of the Whitgift Centre from the Marks and Spencer end. We're going to refurbish the whole lot and we're taking down a couple of the towers and we're going to put up two big towers. We are looking at a sixty-storey tower."

The building may though be too late to make it into the record books as the country's tallest, with plans already granted for the 72-storey Shard building in London Bridge.

Max Menon, chairman of Croydon Business Improvement District, welcomed the idea as good for the town's economy.

“We are planning a complete redevelopment of the Whitgift Centre from the Marks and Spencer end. We’re going to refurbish the whole lot and we’re taking down a couple of the towers and we’re going to put up two big towers. We are looking at a sixty-storey tower.”
Chief executive Greg Coughlan

"If it regenerates Croydon I don't see any issue with and it will bring plenty of benefits," he added. "If you build a 60-storey building you are going to have a lot of people working in Croydon and it's going to bring money into Croydon one-way or another."

Cabinet member for planning, Councillor Chris Wright, was among a group of delegates who took a model of the town centre to the world property market summit in Cannes last year and he feels that decision paid off.

He said: "We wouldn't rule out a tower of that size just for being 60-storeys but it needs to be in the right place for it to work. It just shows how well Croydon is thought of as people are coming to us from all over the place asking what they can do and where they can do it as they know Croydon is on the up and will be a superb place in the future."

Mr Coughlan was at a topping out ceremony for Altitude 25 last Wednesday, where it was revealed that two penthouses at the 82-metre tower had already been sold for more than £1million.

The penthouses, which are 2,113 sq ft and 1,390 sq ft, were sold as empty "shells", allowing the buyers to decide everything about the layout, including how many rooms they want.

[jef]

A couple of shots taken today in Canary Wharf Scroll -->>>

15 Canada Square - new KPMG eco-friendly European HQ; topping out ceremony was held today









30 The North Colonnade - new Fimalac London HQ. The three largest Basel 2 compliant rating companies -S&P, Moody's and Fitch - are now located in Canary Wharf (Moody's has confirmed today they are relocating from various locations in the City to 1CS).







5 Churchill Place - new Bear Stearns European HQ Interesting HOK-designed building. Cladding seems to be top notch.







25 Churchill Place Canary Wharf is proceeding with the staged construction. Basements are under construction. Maybe the future News Corp European HQ.





Pan Peninsula









Arrowhead. Little progress over the last couple of weeks. 1 or 2 workmen on site. The core should have topped out ... in Feb 08. To be honest I now doubt this would be spec. built under current downturn market conditions.



The Landmark Lot of activity on site. Full steam ahead.





Riverside South As expected the most exciting site with loads works underway. Dozens of workmen. I have a video of this. To be posted later on. No signs of excavation yet though. No barges whatsoever either. I would say basement works are likely to begin fall 2008 / early 2009.









Last pic, oh and it seems that Swan / Alberta House is u/c, anyone to confirm this?

[AJphx]

thanks for the answers and the construction photos Jef!

[jef]

LBTH mentions the request for scoping opinion in support of an application for 50 storey and 10 storey towers to provide 405 residential units with retail and leisure facilities at Innovation Centre / Canary Wharf (one og those sites between Exchange Tower and Wood Wharf, at the east of the estate).

[jef]

link to a short video showing works at Riverside South:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8Yt_-DqDQs

[jef]

The City:





One New Change (deep excavation, noisy):



Leadenhall/Willis/Loyds/St Mary Axe and around:

[jef]

News International:

News International is due to announce imminently the location of its new 300,000-400,000 sq ft European headquarters. This transaction is likely to be the largest letting of the year in Central London.

Some news regarding the sites that are understood to have been shortlisted:

Arrowhead: works seem to have been put on hold (tbc). According to some market reports this scheme lacks "prestige" for James Murdoch and does not offer the security barriers of adjacent developments in CW, such as 25 Churchill Place.

York House: Delancey is about to submit a revised planning application for a larger office building at York House, adjacent to Waterloo Station, which will total approximately 325,000 sq ft. Architect is Sheppard Robson. In November 2005, a resolution to grant planning consent was obtained for a 13 storeys 243,800 sq ft office building. The Section 106 Legal Agreement was completed in July 2007.

25 Churchill Place: basement works are underway. It is likely that the Board of the recently purchased Wall Street Journal is keen to move into CW business district.

[jef]

Letter of John Forrester, Head of London Markets, DTZ, in the FT today.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/eaf68af6-d...0779fd2ac.html

Landmarks are more crucial than ever for LondonPublished: February 12 2008 02:00 | Last updated: February 12 2008 02:00

From Mr John Forrester.

Sir, Critics who are too quick to dismiss plans for tall buildings in London miss a vital point: London can’t stand still, it needs development to develop (“Critics take aim at planning ‘land grab’”, February 7).

New York is concerned that it could lose out further to London because more than 60 per cent of Manhattan’s office stock is over 50 years old. If this is the case, then isn’t it a logical assumption that limiting development in the City of London could result in limiting London’s, and thereby the UK's, competitiveness?

The “Gherkin” quickly became a pin-up of the London property market – landmark of London’s status as a leading world economy. Buildings need to be designed to attract workers, as well as house them. Globalisation has made firms footloose so one could argue the likes of the “Cheese grater” and the “Shard of glass” are more important than ever before – particularly as towers are traditionally well let.

While no one could doubt the history and beauty of London’s historic landmarks, both heritage and commercial buildings like the Gherkin are themselves globally renowned for their iconic status. That is why cities regularly build skyscrapers to put them on the map – the Burj Dubai and Petronas Towers are two examples among many.

If London wants to continue to attract global corporations, which create jobs and drive the economy, then we need to design attractive new buildings in appropriate locations to accommodate them. Surely, part of what makes London so appealing is both its past and its potential?

[jef]

The view from Ontario Tower. Pic taken last year when visiting a flat to buy:

[Ducov]

Great updates jef, methinks it's time I got my arse back down to the city and canary wharf to see the progress.

As for the 60 story proposal for Croydon.... wow, that really would put the whole area in a different light.

[jef]

Shangri-La has updated its London website:

[DIABOLICALIBERTY]

Hi Jef! great updates by the way..i cant log on to ssc..as the server is too slow..anyway i dont know if you remember but a while back i mentioned to you that i thought there had been some movement on London & Regionals development down at Lovells wharf down in east greenwich.As i suspected They have instructed Durkan to clear the site..and i wandered down there and it is full steam ahead..durkan have almost completely cleared the site already!this is right next to the Cutty sark pub in Greenwich if you know the area.Checing on the internet..L& R had their revised scheme comprising commercial,residential and office space comprising over 400 apartments approved recently after the scheme with the tall tower was rejected.The plans look quite good and hopefully they will do a good job..anyway another historic wharf gone..sad but better to provide homes instead of empty derelict land.Could you post the news on ssc if you havent done so already as i cant get on there.Thanks.

[jef]

^^^ Thanks. Note I do not post anymore on ssc.

SOM has unveiled its masterplan for Goodman's Fields in Central London:

[Grumpy]

It is about time I take the Eurostar to look at all this, great update

[jef]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

It is about time I take the Eurostar to look at all this, great update

Thanks Grumpy.

I have recently paid 100 £ for a return ticket London - Brussels. Around 75-80EUR. It takes less than 2 hours. And St Pancras is absolutely magnificent.

It is a shame it still takes more than 3 hours to go to Amsterdam. Even Rotterdam is a long way off.

No problem to take pictures in Canary Wharf even before police officers.

Any way, back to London, I have recently completed the 3D model of the Shard London Bridge. I believe this building will be the equivalent of the Eiffel Tower in France: a real masterpiece of architecture.

The best view will be from the Tower Bridge, here we go (nb: the groundscraper at More London 6, new PwC European HQ will be completed by 2012 but I have no idea of its design):

[Swede]

^That rendering makes me predict a future postcard shot sold everywhere in London:
Tower Bridge in the foreground, the Shard in the back and Guy's hidden behind one of the Tower Bridge towers.