Hardington Capital has submitted a planning application to redevelop a London office block opposite Cannon Street train station into 30 serviced apartments.
The real estate investment advisor and asset manager had acquired St Mary Abchurch House, 123-127 Cannon Street, EC4, for £6.75m from GMS Estates in October 2023.
The site has an existing planning consent for conversion to 20 serviced apartments that was granted in February 2023.
The Grade II listed red brick and terracotta building comprises 13,106 sq ft of existing office, retail and bar accommodation, arranged over lower ground, ground and five upper floors.
Hardington has submitted new plans to increase the number of apartments to be provided and has signed an agreement with serviced apartment operator Native, to operate the building when it is completed.
A planning statement submitted with the application said: “The layouts could be optimised to create smaller rooms which are more affordable and thus more attractive to the market in which the building is expected to cater to, which is likely to include short-term accommodation for business and leisure travellers.”
The planning statement further said that the new plans have been filed as Harding’s discussions with mechanical and fire engineers has flagged “several fundamental technical issues with the approved scheme”.
The initial feedback has been that it would not be possible to deliver the scheme as approved and achieve the necessary fire safety standards.
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