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Development Update Ability Place Developer's Completion Estimate
Developer's Completion Estimate The estimated completion date is Spring 2009 The developer's focus remains on installation of the final cladding to the uppermost floors whilst there are some minor cladding works ongoing at lower levels. The ground floor structure is now being enclosed and work continues internally, with the first fix of plumbing and electrical services, and partitioning of the individual apartments now taking place.
Canary Wharf Group is pushing forward with expansion plans, in spite of the impact of the credit crunch on investment banks. The group is in exclusive negotiations for JP Morgan Chase to take three new offices totaling 1.3 million sq ft at Canary Wharf's Riverside South development adjacent to The Landmark, after the bank shunned a development in the City of London. JP Morgan has recently emerged as one of the strongest banks and is expected to sign for the office space before the end of this year. Four commercial buildings are due to be completed next year. Most of these have been prelet or presold to future occupiers which include the accountants KPMG, Fitch, the rating agency and its parent company Fimalac and State St, the American bank. Canary Wharf also expects to get the green light from Tower Hamlets council this month for a joint venture to develop a seven million sq ft project known as Wood Wharf, over the next ten to fifteen years. If approved, Wood Wharf - a joint venture between British Waterways, Ballymore Properties and Canary Wharf Group would pay £50 million towards further development of local amenities. The project's stakeholders would also contribute £100 million towards a new Crossrail station for the area. Meanwhile, Canary Wharf is set to become even better connected. Its local airport, City Airport, has received consent to increase the number of take-offs and landings by around 50 per cent. The airport chiefly serves the City of London and Canary Wharf business districts and has grown rapidly in recent years with passenger volumes rising by more than 20 per cent a year in both 2006 and 2007. The airport has already invested heavily to create facilities to cope with higher numbers and in recent months has added four more aircraft stands. It has opened a new pier and has almost doubled the size of the departure lounge as business travellers take the opportunity to avoid increasing congestion at the main London airports. The market around Canary wharf is an interesting one, with price - both of rentals and sales properties - being hugely dependent on proximity to the centre of the Wharf and the age, quality and size of the accommodation. The area's rental apartments range from £350 per week to £500 for a 1 bedroom apartment, whilst 2 bedroom apartments are currently renting for between £550 and £800 per week. Citi Quays is currently marketing a 1 bedroom off-plan property within Ability Place for £350,000 and Franklin James are offering for sale a 1 bedroom apartment in Lanterns Court for £350,000, whereas Vanet Estates has a 1 bedroom flat in Pan Peninsula on the market for £355,000. 2 bedroom homes in the area are being offered through King Sturge (£640,000 in Pan Peninsula), Lourdes Estate Agents (£650,000 in Pan Peninsula), Alex Neil (£655,000 in Ability Place) and Regents Residential (£690,000 in Ability Place). The developer’s main focus is to the interior of the building as the installation of the windows and external cladding progresses. Whilst there are still a number of storeys that need their outer ‘skin’ of glass and steel, work has commenced internally with the first fix of plumbing and electrical services, and partitioning of the individual apartments.
February Site Update At Ability Place, the superstructure is complete and work is continuing on adding the balconies and exterior finish. As you can see in the images, the glazing is already in place on much of the development and the coloured panels that contribute to the striking design of Ability Place are being fitted across the development.
November Site Update In June the building structure was at the 11th floor. Now, just a few months later, the development is up to the 22nd. As you can see from the latest images, windows and cladding are being installed starting at the lower levels and working upwards.
February Area Update The Crossrail project, which was granted funding last October, overcame its last policy hurdle at the end of January. The Crossrail Bill was passed by the House of Commons after a three year marathon journey during which the legislation (for what will be the largest civil engineering project since the Channel Tunnel) underwent exhaustive line-by-line scrutiny. News International is poised to start the sale process that will see the company move from its ‘Wapping Fortress’ home, where it has been based for the last 22 years. The company announced it was moving its print operations from the east London site back in 2004 and has since been sizing up potential locations for its editorial staff. Canary Wharf is tipped as the favourite location, although the move is not expected to take place until 2010. Last week saw the final beam erected on the 400,000 square feet, 16 storey tower at 15 Canada Square, which Canary Wharf Group has pre-sold a 999 year leasehold interest to KPMG. The Canary Wharf Group’s East London estate is thriving. The district is 99.6 per cent let and lease lengths are at an average of 19 years. Such high and likely continuing demand will underpin rental income over the coming years. November Area Update Funding for Crossrail, the UK’s most ambitious rail project, was granted in October 2007, securing the £16 billion cost of the scheme. The new 74 kilometre railway will run from Maidenhead in the west to Shenfield, Essex in the East, linking Heathrow Airport with Canary Wharf along the way. The long-anticipated rail link has been warmly welcomed by business leaders and economists, who anticipate that it will add around £30 billion to the UK’s GDP and create an additional 30,000 jobs, concentrated within the Canary Wharf area. KPMG has announced that 4,400 staff will move to a new 15-storey headquarters to be built at 15 Canada Square, alongside HSBC and Barclays; further evidence of the financial district’s continued growth. In January the building was only four levels tall and just 4 months later the concrete frame has been built to the 11th floor. The work is progressing well according to the contractors programme.
March Site Update Ability Place is well under way, the foundations are complete, with the build already up to the fourth floor.
In January 2007 the London Borough of Tower Hamlets granted planning permission for the development of an additional 4 million sq ft of commercial office space on the North Quay site immediately north of One Canada Square, Canary Wharf. The development will adjoin the proposed Isle of Dogs Crossrail station which is part of the transport project currently before Parliament. Also, planning permission has been granted for the Canary Riverside South development of two towers of 4 million sq ft of commercial space designed by Richard Rogers Partnership. Firms moving to Canary Wharf include State Street, Bear Stearns and KPMG. A master planning exercise has gone into the development of the Millennium Quarter where Ability Place is situated. The Millenium Quarter will become part of a new strategic commercial centre of Tower Hamlets. It will offer a mix of offices, housing (for rent and sale), leisure, cultural activities, shopping and community facilities. t: +44 (0)845 356 1000 e: info@younggroup.co.uk |
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