A buyer is being sought for a prime commercial development site in Blackfriars, London, after it was placed into administration by its owner.
The site – which is currently derelict – comes complete with planning permission for a 53-storey ‘vertical city’ skyscraper.
The site’s previous owners, property developers The Beetham Organisation, had planned to build the tower but, following the recession, the project was shelved with only the clearing of the site completed.
The tower – which had been nicknamed ‘The Boomerang’ - was to comprise 261 luxury flats, a public viewing gallery and a hotel, and was slated for completion in time for the London 2012 Olympics.
The Beetham Organisation had hoped to cash in on the strong interest in London from both visitors and investors as a result of the Games.
Editor of Building Design magazine, Ellis Woodman, told the Evening Standard that he can see the site from his office and that it ‘was being used as a material store for another site but now it is completely empty.’
Offers for the commercial site are expected to be in the region of £150 million. There are rumours that the developer behind the Shard skyscraper, Irvine Sellar, could be keen to take on the Blackfriars site. However, nothing has yet been confirmed.
