Singapore developer Perennial Group and development manager Stanhope have lodged their plans to build the City of London's tallest tower.
Stanhope was picked in 2022 to oversee revisions to the redevelopment of 1 Undershaft, the site of the St Helen’s building, also known as the Aviva Tower, in the centre of the financial district.
CoStar News revealed last year that consultation had begun on plans for a 74-storey tower that would soar above the current tallest building in the City, 22 Bishopsgate, and be the same height as London's tallest building, The Shard, in London Bridge.
In November 2016, the City of London Corporation granted consent for the existing building to be replaced with a 73-storey commercial development, comprising 1.4 million square feet of predominantly office space.
The revised plans are for the demolition of the existing buildings but retention and partial expansion of the existing basement, then the construction of a ground floor plus 73 storeys for office use, retail and food and beverage. It also proposes public amenity, publicly accessible education space and a viewing gallery at levels 72 and 73. There will be a public cycle hub, plus a podium garden at level 11, public realm improvement works and basement cycle parking.
The revised proposals change the consented scheme by adding new flexible workspaces and expanded civic and business functions while delivering a more sustainable building with more urban greening. It retains its aspiration to be the tallest in the City and keeps the upper floors for educational and public access through a collaboration with the Museum of London.
At 309.6 metres above sea level, 1 Undershaft would match the height of London's tallest building The Shard, which south of the River Thames, and is just higher than the City of London's tallest tower 22 Bishopsgate. Stanhope with Schroders last year gained consent for a slightly smaller tower nearby at 55 Bishopsgate, which would be 285 metrea above sea level.
The present building occupies one of the few remaining sites deemed acceptable for new tall buildings in the City and forms part of the planned opening-up of the area between Tower 42, Bishopsgate, Old Broad Street and Wormwood Street as part of the City of London’s Renewal Opportunity Area.
In a statement, the development consortium, on its website launching consultation on the revised plans, said while the existing permission could have been progressed, desire for "more wellbeing-led office space" on the back of the pandemic, "and the City of London Corporation’s new ‘Destination City’ initiative", had led it to reconsider the approach.
In the design and access statement they say the plans create a building of "exceptional quality when seen from anywhere within London; at close quarters, in glimpsed views, and in the grander set-piece of London’s skyline". They describe it further as an "efficient, refined and timeless building" that will have "class-leading sustainability credentials with aspirations to create the most carbon-efficient tall building in London and the UK".
The 1.725 million square feet of offices will have "generous floor to ceiling heights, high levels of natural light and high levels of fresh air intake to provide a healthier working environment, not possible to achieve within the existing building".
It says it will be predominantly commercial-led with some coworking offices and a 10th floor podium roof garden. The building also proposes Europe’s tallest publicly accessible viewing gallery. It has increased the number of different sized floorplates and included more roof gardens and terraces for the office floors.
The building retains the tapered form at the top of the tower but includes new stepped lower sections which "preserve cityscape views and respects viewing corridors and local historic assets".
Three main office tower sections would be placed above an elevated public podium garden at level 10, increasing daylight.
The building will now be all-electric, reducing carbon emissions and improving the energy efficiency. It proposes an additional 40,000 square feet of public space compared with the consented scheme.
Stanhope is leading the development, with Eric Parry Architects designing the project. DP9 is planning consultant. Newmark is development consultant and leasing adviser.
Insurer Aviva is due to move out of the 1960s 23-storey building on the site by the middle of 2024, with Perennial then set to take control of the site.
Central London is still seeing a significant number of major office developments come forward, buoyed by continued demand for the best and most sustainable space and despite wider concerns about the global office market.
According to Savills, City offices saw the lowest investment turnover in 14 years last year. But take-up figures and rents for the most prime offices across the capitalremain robust. CoStar is tracking 20 million square of offices under construction across Greater London. The largest of these are 40 Leadenhall and Google's headquarters at King's Cross.
Mark Stansfield, CoStar's UK head of analytics, said: "Should revised proposals proceed as planned, 1 Undershaft will be another addition to the City of London's burgeoning 1-million-square-foot club and another landmark tower in its famous insurance district." He added: "The revised designs cater to increasing tenant demand for more outdoor and wellbeing spaces and greater amenity and mirror the design tweaks being made at other major developments such as nearby 40 Leadenhall."