Europe’s tallest tower will soon be changing the skyline of London. The tower is being sponsored by the state of Qatar, which is showing keen interest in the UK real estate markets even as foreign countries rush to make investments here.
The Governor of Qatar Central Bank approved of the project recently and reiterated his faith in the resurgence of the UK’s real estate scenario post recession. The tower has been christened ‘The Shard‘ and it will cost an estimated £2b to complete. It is expected to come up near the South Bank of Thames.
The 80-floor tower will span 600,000 sq ft and at a 310 m height, it will be the tallest building in all of Europe. Designed for multiple purposes, the building will have shared office space and residential flats in addition to shops, restaurants and a hotel.
The ownership of the tower will be split among the state of Qatar and the developers. Qatar shows its faith in real estate markets in the UK with this huge investment here. They will have 80% stake in the building with the balance being taken up by developers. The project has been designed by Renzo Piano Irvine Seller and it is expected to be completed by 2013.
Director Barry Ostle of Sellar Property Group stated that no focussed efforts have been undertaken to pre-let the building yet. He deferred speaking about the expected rentals and affirmed that pre-letting is not a priority for the developers. However, even before the commencement of construction, Shangri-La hotels and Transport for London have booked spaces in the building. It is speculated that the building may be one of the first to have a major number of new tenants as the recessive economy begins to look up now.
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