In an indication that city planners are still betting on the office market despite the present crisis, the financial district of the City of London has authorized plans for a skyscraper that will match in height the highest structure in Western Europe, which is located one mile to the south. The skyscraper will have 73 floors.
The City of London local authority announced on Friday that they had given the go-ahead to the proposed tower, which would be exactly the same height as London’s Shard, after altering a previously approved proposal “to better respond to post-pandemic office needs.” The tower will be 309.6 meters (1,015.75 feet) tall.
The tower, officially known as 1 Undershaft, received official approval in 2016 at a height slightly lower than the original proposal, but construction never started.
Environmental organizations have criticized the proposed construction, which requires the demolition of an existing smaller tower. The investor Aroland has been working on getting this project off the ground for years.
In a consultation response to city planners in February, Historic England stated that the renovations had not altered its impact and that it would “seriously degrade” the public domain around it. City planners submitted a petition, prompting this statement.
Constructing the tower would provide 154,156 square meters of office space, roughly equivalent to 1.66 million square feet. It would also have public parks and 72nd and 73rd-floor learning spaces for children.
Higher borrowing rates and an increase in the number of people working from home as a result of the pandemic have had a significant impact on London’s office market, despite the fact that premium space has continued to be in demand.
This year has seen the sale of a tiny number of big office properties in London. A significant test of investor appetite is currently being conducted by Nuveen and Brookfield, two investors who are attempting to sell office towers in London.
The number of newly available rental properties in London has decreased since the pandemic began. On the other hand, office buildings in the city have recently defied the trend, with new starts increasing by 7% between April and September of this year. This contrasts with declines in all other central London markets Deloitte monitored.
There are others who believe that the skyline of London has become increasingly congested with generic glass-and-metal structures that overshadow ancient sites. This is especially true in the City of London, which is the location of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
The approval of another much-needed office development in the City of London, according to Shravan Joshi, chairman of the Planning and Transportation Committee of the City of London Corporation, “speaks to the confidence that global investors have in the London real estate market and the economy of the United Kingdom more generally.”
2012 was the year that saw the completion of The Shard, which is now the highest skyscraper in Western Europe.
