Construction of London’s “Walkie Talkie” begins at 20 Fenchurch Street, EC3

Rafael Viñoly designed tower will deliver 690,000 sq ft of world class office space

Article posted: 19 Jan 2011

Construction of the much talked about “Walkie Talkie” building finally got underway today at 20 Fenchurch Street, EC3, following the breaking of the ground by George Iacobescu CBE, Chief Executive Officer of Canary Wharf Group and Robert Noel, Managing Director, London Portfolio, Land Securities.

Piling for the Rafael Viñoly designed building will commence this week with completion to ground floor planned for February 2012 and final completion anticipated in early 2014. When complete, the 37 storey building will provide 690,000 sq ft world class office space in the City of London, with each floor offering 360° of unrivalled views, topped by a public sky garden.

20 Fenchurch Street, EC3 will bring Grade A office space to a supply constrained central London market of 2014 as more than 3m sq ft of leases are expected to expire or see breaks potentially exercised per annum during the next four years. The work to deliver the scheme is expected to support approximately 3,000 jobs throughout the construction process.

The joint venture between Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group plc was announced in October 2010. Land Securities and Canary Wharf Group have been appointed joint development managers and both are responsible for the leasing, with Land Securities taking the lead. Canary Wharf Contractors Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canary Wharf Group, has been appointed as Construction Manager, bringing its experience of developing over 15m sq ft of grade A office space to its second project in the City of London.

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Posted by Aree J Rand