It has been announced this week that a 27 storey tower is to be built alongside London landmark the Shard. The 160,000 sq ft building will contain 150 residential apartments along with an unspecified amount of retail space.
The latest stage in the expansion of the London Bridge Quarter will be developed by Sellar Property Group (SPG) and financed by Qatari investors. The new tower will be designed by Shard architect Renzo Piano and will feature a roof garden.
The announcement demonstrates the property group’s confidence in the London Bridge development despite the fact that the Shard and neighbouring building the Place – also known as the Baby Shard – are not yet fully let.
The Shard’s 10 apartments, priced at around £50m each, are still for sale and there is also office space that remains empty, although negotiations with potential occupiers are believed to be on-going.
Already confirmed tenants include broadcaster Al Jazeera and healthcare firm Hospital Corporation of America. In addition it was recently announced that News UK, the publisher of both the Times and the Sun, will be taking space in the 17 storey Place.
SPG says that, overall, 75 per cent of the 2 million sq ft of office and residential space has been let or is subject to negotiation.
Speaking about the proposed sister building, James Sellar said; “This exciting project continues the regeneration of the area around London Bridge Station, building on the success of the Shard and the Place as well as the significant improvements we have already made to the station concourse and bus station.”
It is thought that a formal planning application will be submitted shortly.
