Great Portland Estates’ redevelopment of City Place House has been given the green light by City of London planners.
The City of London Corporation has approved proposals to demolish the 10-storey, marble-clad 1990s block at 55 Basinghall Street, EC2, and replace it with a new 12-storey office building.
Designers previously described the proposed new scheme, which would include 322,000 sq ft of office and retail space as well as changes to the surrounding public realm, as “more consistent with the City of London’s ambition to remain a ‘global city’”.
The project will involve replacing an adjoining public walkway running above London Wall, carrying out significant works at the foot of the neighbouring City Tower, which is also owned by GPE, and installing a new garden space.
The plans were submitted by GPE subsidiary Knighton Estates, and designed by architects at Allies and Morrison.
GPE bought the 29-year-old City Place House from Starwood Capital in 2015, in a £104m deal designed to “unlock further value” at the 179,000 sq ft site, according to chief executive Toby Courtauld.
The developer picked up City Tower at the same time, also from Starwood, for £86.6m. It holds the long leasehold from the City of London Corporation for both buildings.
The new building will include raised garden terraces for its office tenants and new retail space on the ground floor. It will be renamed 2 Aldermanbury Square, in a nod to the area behind the building which backs out towards Guildhall.
For more planning submissions in the Basinghall Street area, go to Radius
To send feedback, e-mail alex.daniel@eg.co.uk or tweet @alexmdaniel or @EGPropertyNews
