SkyscraperPage Forum - LONDON | 20 Fenchurch Street | 525 feet / 160.11 meters

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LONDON | 20 Fenchurch Street | 525 feet / 160.11 meters | 36 floors

Quote:

Land Sec Looks To Walkie Talkie Partnership
Published on 06-09-2010 by Skyscrapernews.com

Land Securities is about to sign up the Canary Wharf Group as the partner in a joint venture to construct a new skyscraper in the City of London, 20 Fenchurch Street.

More commonly known as the Walkie Talkie thanks to the top-heavy look of the Rafael Vinoly design, the 160.11 metre tall building will have 36 floors above ground plus two basement levels and offer approximately 55,000 square metres of lettable space with the more lucrative floorplates at the top of the building being larger than those further down.

Songbird Estates, which owns 70% of the Canary Wharf Group, has received large amounts of foreign investment from outside the UK including the Qatari Investment Authority and the China Invesment Corporation, both of which are sovereign wealth funds. With this influx of money, the company has started to look outside its core estate whilst the increasing equity that these bodies own has improved the financial position of the developer.

There's also another lining for Canary Wharf in the form of construction contracts. The firm is a vertically integrated group and owns Canary Wharf Contractors who have built much of the Canary Wharf estate, so there are extra synergies to be exploited from skyscraper development for them.

In addition to this the China Investment Corporation is also considering buying a 25% share in the project from Land Securities, although whether this refers to half of Land Securities 50% that they will have or 25% of the half remains to be seen.

In any case, it shows the continuing trend in London of major foreign investors seeing the new generation of skyscrapers as prime assets to be developed speculatively, something that British investors have been famously unwilling to fund.

With the site having now been cleared by Keltbray, and a construction schedule of roughly three years, work should begin on the project in 2011 assuming everything gets signed and sealed.

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images...treet_pic1.jpg

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images...treet_pic4.jpg

http://www.gardenvisit.com/blog/wp-c...nchurch_st.jpg

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:M...new1pa.jpg&t=1

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images...treet_pic5.jpg

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/images...treet_pic8.jpg

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/2804/20fcnew26bk.jpg

http://www.skyscrapernews.com/news.php?ref=2635

Another Landmark For London!

What will they nickname this one?

yowza! it's not exactly beautiful but it fits perfectly in its context somehow...i'm intrigued! neat :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zerton (Post 4978026)

What will they nickname this one?

It's current nick-name is the 'Walkie-Talkie'.

Some more images of the impressive sky-park which will be open to the public and incorporate plants and trees from four regions (Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas).

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2796/...9a05a007_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4044/...ef8c594e_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4066/...6cc9e0ce_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4030/...65412a6f_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4039/...f1355258_b.jpg

380 feet ? Has it been chopped significantly ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zerton (Post 4978026)

What will they nickname this one?

I would say "The Thumb" or "The Toe"

The garden in the sky concept is just awesome, but the top-heavy massing just doesn't work for me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by colemonkee (Post 4980945)

The garden in the sky concept is just awesome, but the top-heavy massing just doesn't work for me.

I think in real-life it will be much more elegant

I've just realised what this reminds me of:

http://images.fanpop.com/images/imag...85_306_579.gif
fanpop.com/Dr Suesshttp://www.fanpop.com/spots/dr-seuss.../cat-hat-photo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dale (Post 4978352)

380 feet ? Has it been chopped significantly ?

No - I think the Wiki figure of 160m, 525ft is more accurate. But it has been bulked out over the years. This is an old version, and this, fatter one is the new version.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SD_Phil

yowza! it's not exactly beautiful but it fits perfectly in its context somehow...i'm intrigued! neat

I agree! There are lots of unusual buildings in that part of the City, so I think it will fit right in. It might make the overall City cluster look a bit less elegant, though.

Still, even the patch of bare ground that's there already is better than what used to be there:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...rch_Street.JPG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:20...rch_Street.JPGArtybrad, Wiki

http://static.guim.co.uk/static/9427...mages/logo.gif

Quote:

Songbird sees profit in Walkie-Talkie skyscraper deal
Canary Wharf owner expects City move will exploit shortage of rental space

Songbird, the owner of Canary Wharf, is close to expanding into the City, with talks about a joint venture with Land Securities to develop the "Walkie-Talkie" skyscraper to be concluded soon.

Plans to build the 160-metre tower at 20 Fenchurch Street, designed by the award-winning architect Rafael Viñoly, were put on hold at the start of the financial crisis but Land Securities is now keen to get it off the ground. Dubbed the Walkie-Talkie due to its shape and sloping sides, it is expected to be completed in 2014, when many leases expire in the City, exacerbating the shortage of modern office space.

John Garwood, Songbird's company secretary, said: "We're in the advanced stages of discussions and would expect this to be concluded near-term." If a 50-50 joint venture is agreed with Land Securities, the group wants to cut its stake to 15% "to spread the development liability".

It is likely to sell the remaining 35% to its main shareholders, which include the China Investment Corporation and Qatar Holding, as well as Morgan Stanley Real Estate Fund and the New York investor Simon Glick.

Garwood was optimistic about the outlook for the London office market. "There is a slew of leases expiring from 2012 onwards and people will be looking for high-specification buildings. There will be a shortage of supply and this will push up rents," he said.

He noted that just over a year ago, there was 560,000 sq metres of office space available in London, but this has now halved to 280,000 sq metres.

Songbird's major investors have underwritten a £140m share-placing that will enable the company to pay back a £135m loan to the same investors, taken out a year ago to raise its stake in Canary Wharf Group (CWG) to nearly 70%. The loan was part of an emergency £1bn debt restructuring, which was backed by the Qatari and Chinese sovereign wealth funds.

Songbird took a £50.1m write-down after the administrators of the failed US investment bank Lehman Brothers stopped paying rent on its former headquarters at 25 Bank Street in Canary Wharf. This contributed to an 85% drop in underlying first-half profits, to £13.1m. But the group pointed out that it is covered for future loss of rent for four years under an insurance deal with AIG. Garwood said the company was unlikely to start drawing down the rental guarantee before the New Year.

JP Morgan has yet to decide about whether it will go ahead with plans for a new 185,000 sq metre headquarters at Riverside South in Canary Wharf, where it has already spent more than £300m buying land from CWG and laying the foundations, with CWG doing construction and design work.

Michael Burt at Execution Noble said: "With the Lehman Brothers lease now terminated at 25-30 Bank Street and Nomura ending its sub-let of 40% of the building on 30 September, there is an opportunity to offer JP Morgan the alternative of the old Lehman building and use the AIG rental guarantee to help fund a rent-free incentive/fit-out."

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/...street-006.jpg
ffice block at 20 Fenchurch Street is to be replaced by the 'Walkie-Talkie' building, designed by Rafael Viñoly. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...nchurch-street

This was designed by Bang+Olufsen right?;)

BTW, the photo with that article is extremely out of date. the site has been completely cleared and is waiting for construction to start.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j7...0fensept10.jpg
Talisker

I think this is a beautiful building. A lot of construction in London now.

http://www.freeofficesearch.co.uk/images/2009/logo.gif

Quote:

City office development and supply at 20-year low

Occupiers face higher rents as City office space becomes increasingly harder to come by

Article posted: 27 Sep 2010

The City of London is facing yet another crisis as a result of the credit crunch. With many office development projects shelved when the recession hit, new-build supply is in decline and development is at a record 20-year low.

Figures show that take-up of office space in the City so far this year stands at 3.2m sq ft and so is on target to exceed the 5.8m sq ft total for 2009. However, occupier demand will not be satisfied with only two new buildings coming on the market in 2011; Hines’ 389,000 sq ft Cannon Place and Heron International’s 460,000 sq ft Heron Tower.

The outcome of this is increasing rents for occupiers seeking office space in the Square Mile. In 2007 City rents were at an all time high of £65 per sq ft but dropped to around £49.50 per sq ft in 2010. As confidence returns and new supply diminishes rents are already on the increase averaging £53.50 per sq ft with space in some properties such as 30 St Mary Axe being placed under offer at closer to £60 per sq ft.

Developers such as Hines and Heron, with an eye on this short-term rental growth, are holding back on marketing their schemes to occupiers although each will serve a different type of tenant. With 32 floors of 12,000 sq ft each Heron Tower at 110 Bishopsgate, EC2, is offering smaller occupiers the “village concept” of “buildings within the building.” Groups of three floors are designed as a separate building centred on an atrium for use as a lobby or visitor area. Heron anticipate top City rents for premium office space in an unrivalled location with stunning views over London.

Cannon Place has eight floors of 50,000 sq ft each offering simple, flexible and adaptable space for the modern business. Both will be monitoring the success of new builds One New Change by Land Securities and Minerva’s St Botolphs.

Developers British Land and Land Securities meanwhile are dusting off their shelved speculative schemes at 122 Leadenhall Street “Cheesegrater” and 20 Fenchurch Street “Walkie-Talkie” tower, but with so few developments likely to complete in 2011, no schemes scheduled for a 2012 completion and only one for 2013, it will be 2014 before additional new space enters the market.

http://www.freeofficesearch.co.uk/Of...=September2010

This project is officially back on.

From the Guardian, 25th October

Quote:

Last week... Land Securities, Britain's biggest property developer, said it would restart work on a 37-storey building dubbed the Walkie Talkie, reflecting its shape and sloping sides, in nearby Fenchurch Street after signing a £500m deal with Canary Wharf Group.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...s-cheesegrater

:cheers:
Fantastic news

that has to be one of the coolest around 100 meter towers ever.

and the garden on top is an amazing idea will probably become a very popular spot

i really like the design

Kind of looks like a giant old school electric razor. I like it. :tup:

The thread title needs to be changed.....

This tower is 160m....not 116m.