City to approve flurry of office and co-living plans

The City of London Corporation is set to approve a series of planning applications ahead of its arrival at this yer’s UKREiiF event in Leeds. The approved schemes include Brookfields Properties’ retrofit and extension of Milton Gate at 60 Chiswell Street, EC1, which will deliver 300,000 sq ft of floorspace while retaining 70% of the existing building’s structure. Also on the list is DWS’ retrofit and extension of 60 Queen Victoria Street, EC4, which will involve a 22,152 sq ft extension to take the total office floorspace within the building to almost 115,000 sq ft. The final office application on the list is Classpremium Limited’s redevelopment of Faryners House at 25 Monument Street, EC3, which will deliver 143,569 sq ft of office floorspace, as well as a new cultural and visitor centre. The plans will also deliver cascading terraces, green roofs and native planting to exceed the London Plan’s Urban Greening Factor Target. Tom Sleigh, chairman of the City of London Corporation’s planning and transport committee, said: “As we deliver modern workspaces to meet evolving business needs, we are equally focused on respecting our architectural heritage and enhancing amenities for local residents, workers and visitors.” He added: “With 96% of our offices within five minutes’ walk of a Tube station, we have seen the level of active demand in central London, particularly for large scale prelets, continue to rise. The City Corporation will remain focused on delivering a minimum of 1.2m sq m of the best-in-class office space in the best-connected locations.” 60 Queen Victoria Street image © Millerhare