Wharf is on the rise

By John Hill on January 31, 2008 12:00 AM

A NEW batch of skyscrapers is set to emerge around the Wharf.
Developers are drawing up plans for two schemes of tall towers near Westferry Circus and South Quay, the largest of which could reach nearly as high as the luxury Pan Peninsula development nearby. The mooted projects are the latest in a spate of schemes that will transform the Canary Wharf skyline, including giants such as Riverside South and North Quay.
Applicant Faber Maunsell has approached Tower Hamlets Council about the feasibility of a 48-storey building at 30 Marsh Wall, which would include 340 residential units and retail.

It could rise to an estimated 150 metres, a similar height to Pan Peninsula in Millharbour.
This high-rise residential scheme may be joined by a 40-storey tower at 40 Marsh Wall, which would feature apartments and shops.
Grattan Property is also discussing plans for a 44-storey office tower at One Park Place, just to the west of Cabot Square.
One Park Place is in one of the few central sites on the estate which are not owned by Canary Wharf Group (CWG).
Existing buildings would have to make way for the new scheme, which would feature around 122,000 square metres of space. The current plan dwarfs the previous option for the L-shaped site, which was withdrawn last year.
Squire and Partners had proposed a 10-storey tower with just 25,000 square metres of office floorspace.
No official applications have yet been submitted for any of these sites, which are in their early stages. But developers remain hungry to build in the rapidly-expanding estate and its surrounding area.
Wealthy home-buyers have snapped up most of the units available at Pan Peninsula, which has a cocktail bar and private cinema, and Oracle Group is boasting widespread interest in its family apartments at Indescon Court.
With the workforce in Canary Wharf expected to double to 200,000 by 2026, office space is also in demand. CWG has already begun work on the 325,000 square metre Riverside South development, and will begin building the two-tower North Quay scheme to the north once the Crossrail rail link is completed sometime around 2017.
Plans for a giant mixeduse development at Wood Wharf to the east of the main Canary Wharf estate were revealed at an exhibition in November.
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