South Quay Plaza
South Quay Plaza is a residential-led scheme under construction in Millwall on the Isle of Dogs, London, within the borough of Tower Hamlets developed by Berkeley Group Holdings and designed by architect Foster + Partners. The site of the development lies to the immediate north of Marsh Wall and to the immediate south of the financial district Canary Wharf. It is scheduled for completion in 2022.
The development includes three towers, the tallest of which will reach a height of 214.5 m making it the second tallest residential skyscraper currently proposed for London. There will also be new public and retail space, cafés and restaurants as part of the scheme.
The new development will replace three office and retail buildings on the site which were built in the 1980s. Foundation works began following the demolition of the previous buildings on the site.
Site history
The proposed scheme will be located in an area which was one of the first to be developed along Marsh Wall of any significance. South Quay 1 was constructed in 1986 and occupied by the Daily Telegraph until the Telegraph's move to Canary Wharf. The building then lay empty for some time. South Quay 1 was followed by South Quay 2 and then South Quay 3. For a time in the early nineties, these buildings dominated the area around Marsh Wall as offices until an IRA bomb in late Autumn 1996 which led eventually to the demolition of the original South Quay 1. Although originally scheduled for demolition, South Quay 2 remained until the Berkley scheme demolished it. South Quay 3 was re-skinned after the bomb and renamed Wyndham House. It is now called South Quay Building.in the background. The 15 storey building will remain To make way for the new development, three buildings of two, three and ten storeys used for offices and retail will be demolished. A fifteen storey building on the site is being kept and refurbished.
Design and development
In April 2014, Berkeley obtained the South Quay Plaza buildings and site. They had already developed plans in 2013 for two residential buildings of 73 and 36 storeys. However, the taller of the two buildings was considered too tall for the area. As a result, it was reduced in height to 68 floors and 214.5 m. The smaller building remained unchanged at 115.2 m tall.Planning permission was granted for the development by councillors at Tower Hamlets Council in November 2014. In April 2015, the scheme received approval from the then London Mayor Boris Johnson meaning the development could go ahead.
In 2015, Berkeley announced they are planning to build a third tower next door to South Quay Plaza but will form part of the same development. The skyscraper, known as South Quay Plaza 4, is planned to be slightly smaller than the largest skyscraper at with 56 storeys and contain 396 apartments as well as 20,000 sq ft of retail space. Despite being recommended for approval by planning officers, it was initially rejected by Tower Hamlets council on 12 May 2016, before being granted planning permission on 28 July 2016.
In total, the development will provide 1,338 residential apartments, 6,000 sq m of new outdoor public space as well as cafés and restaurants.
Construction
There will be two phases of development. Phase one is under way and is due to be completed in 2020. It will see the demolition of the current buildings to prepare for the largest and smallest of the three towers. Phase one will also include the construction of the largest skyscraper with the construction of the smallest tower to be part of phase two of development. Construction for phase one is expected to begin in October 2016 with phase two beginning in 2018.Construction of the second tallest tower on the neighbouring site is planned to be part of phase one or an additional phase three.
In July 2015, construction company Laing O'Rourke won the contract to build the largest and smallest of the three buildings.
Development phases
| Phase | Year start/finish | Details |
| 1 | 2015-2020 | Demolition of buildings, construction of tallest tower |
| 2 | 2018-2022 | Construction of second tower |