Walkie Talkie project attractive to contractors
The 180m Walkie Talkie skyscraper project is attracting contractors from all over the UK, after Land Securities announced it was putting the job out to tender.
The plans concern one of the most valuable development opportunities in the City of London, at 20 Fenchurch Street. The development has been stalled since 2007, when planning permission was granted for the 36 storey, 639,000 sq ft building. With costs originally estimated at nearly £300m, developers were put off but with construction prices falling, the development has become highly attractive.
Such a prominent development would provide hundreds of jobs in construction, as well as new office space for an area where commercial premises are in demand.
Construction News reports that a number of parties are interested, including the developer who is constructing the nearby Shard Tower at London Bridge - Mace. The developer has recently been granted another project by Land Securities on Oxford Street and is rumoured to be interested in the Walkie Talkie development. Other interested parties include Brookfield, Skanska and Sir Robert McAlpine after its London 2012 Olympic stadium success.
It is expected that the project will take a few years to complete and be ready after the Shard, Pinnacle and Heron Tower square mile commercial developments are finished in 2012. As such, commentators are worried that there will be a lack of available office space in the following years, pushing up rent prices.
Francis Salway, Land Securities chief, commented on the developments, saying: ''Although it's a bit too early to be delivering speculative developments, it is not too early to be thinking ahead to when you should be delivering them. And these are big projects that take some three years to complete.''
Author: Sarah Howard
Keywords: jobs in construction