A 27 storey eyesore is in the process of being transformed to help revitalise City Road in Hackney. In association with the already refurbished Eagle House property, the skyscraper will provide both residential and commercial space to raise employment and boost income in the London district.
The plan was originally laid out two years ago, but unfortunately the development project was halted in its tracks when the previous owners entered administration. Yet new owners Mount Anvil purchased the site for around £50 million and have picked up where the work left off, with the result that the estimated completion date for the project has been moved to autumn 2015.
Internationally renowned architecture firm Farrells have been re-appointed to design and oversee the development, which will cost £160 million altogether. By the time work has finished, the skyscraper and surrounding site will provide 206 luxury homes, 70 apartments, 6,000 square feet of commercial space for offices, shops and restaurants and secure basement parking.
A new public square will also provide an attractive communal space for shoppers and residents alike.
Administrators PKF negotiated the sale of the Eagle House site when McCabe Eagle House Ltd was forced into administration in 2012. Mount Anvil, in partnership with AREA Property Partners, saw the potential of the commercial property and the deal was finalised last October.
Mount Anvil is no stranger to skyscraper development projects in the Hackney area, as in association with housing firm Affinity Sutton it is simultaneously constructing the Lexicon building on City Road – merely a stone’s throw from the Eagle House site. The partnership hopes that the 36 storey skyscraper will be open for business sometime in 2016.
Residents in the surrounding area have welcomed the news, no doubt hoping that the Eagle House project will revitalise Hackney. As for Mount Anvil, it believes that this project along with several others will make City Road an attractive destination for shoppers and house hunters.
The company’s sales director, Brian De’ath, says; “The property market in the past two years has been very buoyant so it defied logic to have this 27-storey tower lying idle.
“If you look at the number of schemes – all of which are towers – that are planned for City Road over the next few years, we are seeing the creation of a new high street.
“City Road is not somewhere anyone at this time would want to go. But they will.”
Do you think the development project will prove popular with shoppers, given that internet shopping continues to grow in popularity? Will the creation of a “new high street” perhaps encourage Hackney consumers to begin channelling their disposable income into the retail industry in their local area once more?
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