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Bankside Yards | Southwark | 166m, 108m, 94m, 85m, 59m, 58m, 39m, 25m, 22m | 50, 31, 27, 20, 17, 14, 7, 7, 6 fl | U/C + proposed

405K views 901 replies 194 participants last post by  geogregor 
#1 ·
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/11/04/uk-southbank-idUKTRE7A341Z20111104

Private equity giant Carlyle CYL.UL is planning a mixed-use property project worth about 2 billion pounds next to the Tate Modern art gallery on the south bank of London's River Thames, a source close to the project said.

Carlyle, which filed for an IPO in September that could raise up to $1 billion (626 million pound), will submit plans for a 1.5 million square feet project that includes more than 1,000 flats in blocks as tall as 30 storeys, the source told Reuters.

If the project goes ahead it will be one of biggest developments the area has seen.

Carlyle, which has $153 billion in assets under management, bought six properties out of administration in July 2010 for 670 million pounds. It plans to knock down two, on the south bank of the River Thames, as part of the project.

The proposals, which are being drawn up by PLP Architects, include about 300,000 square feet of offices and 200,000 square feet of shops.

It will be the latest in a series of large-scale redevelopment schemes on the south bank of the Thames.

In a joint venture with Development Securities (DSC.L), Carlyle lost out to Canary Wharf Group (CWG) and Qatari Diar in a bid to develop the nearby Shell Centre further earlier this year.

CWG is majority owned by Songbird Estates (SBDE.L).

Sellar Group is developing a 1,016-feet tall skyscraper called The Shard and a neighbouring 500 million pounds block next to London Bridge train station. It hopes to attract financial services tenants from the City financial district, just north of the River Thames.

The Carlyle story first appeared in the London Evening Standard on Friday.
 
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#2 ·
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/stand...repares-to-unveil-giant-south-bank-complex.do

Carlyle prepares to unveil giant South Bank complex
Peter Bill
4 Nov 2011

Carlyle, the American private-equity giant, is working up secret plans for a massive £2 billion development on the south bank of the Thames, close to a newly enlarged Blackfriars Station, it can be revealed today.

Office blocks on either side of the track will be torn down, and replaced with 1.5 million square feet of flats, offices and shops. The proposals are being drawn up by PLP Architects, who were appointed last year after a hush-hush competition.

The plans are still at the concept stage. But it is understood that more than 1000 flats in blocks up to 30 storeys high on the two sites could be built, along with 300,000 square feet of office space and 200,000 square feet of retail. The one million square feet of apartments could be worth a total of £1.5billion, given nearly £1500 per square foot is being paid at nearby Neo Bankside, just behind the Tate Modern. The end value of the commercial space is half a billion pounds.

Plans are due to be submitted to Southwark Council in six months' time. The huge development is likely to become the keystone to the residential renaissance of the South Bank, if it is granted permission.

Last week Berkeley Homes paid £85million for the blighted 52-storey Beetham Tower development site bang opposite the Carlyle site. Work is due to begin soon on flats and a hotel in a 560-foot tower.

Just south of the Berkeley site, consent has been granted for a 42-storey residential tower and 180,000 square feet of offices. Work on the development, promoted by Israeli investor Gil Levy, has not begun.

Carlyle bought Ludgate House and Samson House last year (see right). Ludgate House is a 21-year-old block of 174,000 square feet, at present occupied by United Business Media, publishers of Property Week which today announced a move to new offices down the street.

Samson House is the far larger block. The 386,000-square-foot groundscraper lies on the eastern side of the tracks, close to Tate Modern.

The unloved concrete monstrosity is currently a computer back-up facility for banks.

It is understood that the final shape and massing of the site is still under discussion with Southwark planners. The council wants jobs to be preserved, hence the inclusion of half a million feet of commercial space.

It is said to be keen on Carlyle building a 50-storey tower on the Ludgate House site. This would allow the offices and shops to be kept below 12-15 storeys while preserving the overall size of the unnamed development.

Carlyle is apparently not keen on a tower to "twin" the one to be built by Berkeley over the road. The US fund manager would rather build several blocks between 20 and 30 storeys. Discussions with the council continue. In July, Carlyle and partner Development Securities narrowly lost a bid to build a development of almost similar size on the Shell Centre, further to the west. The successful bidders were the Canary Wharf Group and Qatari Diar.
 
#10 ·
I share your concern - the reverse needs to happen in South london to redress the ridculous imbalance on that side of the river but its all about profit margins with a river location - whilst areas further back from the river such as E+C struggle for investment.
 
#8 ·
From Bd online, If treated as one large development could we see a building that span's the railway?

http://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/plp-working-up-£2-billion-south-bank-development/5027375.article



Mixed-use 185,000sq m project could include 1,000 new flats

PLP Architects has been appointed to draw up plans for a 185,000sq m scheme on London’s South Bank which could include around 1,000 flats and have an end value of up to £2 billion.

Developer Carlyle Group, which is behind the plans, bought the buildings as part of a portfolio of six London offices in July 2010 for £671 million.

Plans are expected to be submitted in the next six months for the redevelopment of Ludgate House, former home of the Daily Express, and neighbouring Sampson House on the south side of Blackfriars Bridge.

The sites are separated by a railway line but it is believed they will be treated as a single development which would include around 30,000sq m of office space and nearly 20,000sq m of retail.

Ludgate House currently contains 16,000sq m of office space while Sampson House contains around 32,500sq m.
 
#11 ·
possibly, Rogers had a similar master plan for the whole of the south london area stepping up from the Thames and increasing in height around a re-invented Elephant & Castle. But we dont really do masterplans, look at how the once vigorous and all-encompassing recent E&C masterplan has disintegrated before our eyes.

We also know that a) this will not be replicated on the North Bank b) there are plenty of conservation points along the south bank to prevent a wall.
 
#13 ·
It is interesting to see this project shaping up to comprise one or more tall slim residential towers, hopefully set back from the Thames to the rear of the site, and a low/mid rise office building with perhaps very large floor plates. I hope the embankment area flows well and that there are good pedestrian connections with Blackfriars Bridge.

I concur that I don't think there will be too many tears shed for the demolition of Ludgate House and Samson House, though the comprehensive demolition of these two relatively large mid-rise office buildings only 20-25 or so years old does not say much for them from a functional and architectural design perspective.
 
#14 ·
Ludgate House is pretty solid 80s pomo, but won't be missed. Sampson House is actually quite cool.

I can see that the view from my office is gradually going to be chipped away over the coming years but it's good that the City's prosperity is really starting to spill over to the south bank....
 
#22 ·
Sampson House:



I hate 1960's architecture and would quite happily see it all disappear but this example has a great sense of presense, disregards all of it surroundings, look how un-utililesed the river views are! In short this beast of a building is pretty dam cool for getting everything wrong and be completely oversized in its proportions. It is a shame that it should be demolished but c'est la vie.
 
#25 ·
This is an interesting elevation.



There could be some interesting massing going on there if a more contemporary material was used for a reclad, with the group of verticals meeting the horizontals. I like the force of the building, it's long, its grunts into the space and has a powerful presence, and sort of resembles a cruise ship with its lengthy decking - how very 1970s. The streetscape is dire though!



So for a new build something more permeable, lighter on the space and maybe, maybe a splash of colour would be good. Don't mind what height; here's hoping that original cluster that was proposed around this area materialises.
 
#29 ·
Any more info on this development, and in particular on Ludgate House just to the west of the Blackfriars viaduct?

This was built on the alignment of the old rail line over the bridges, and they will need to regain this space if they expand Blackfriars into new platforms westwards.

:)
 
#30 ·
After thinking about it, I'm not holding out much hope, to be honest.

If they replace Sampson House with a couple of slender office or resi towers and it's possible to open up further arches under the railway lines, then great, but...

  • Most businesses prefer large floorplans to small (ie there's a premium on large), and there is definitely a tendency towards buildings of the general massing of the current building.
  • Tall buildings will struggle to get through planning.
  • What can one do with this plot of land? It's never going to be that pleasant.
It just fantasy to suggest they would build over the tracks. Network Rail would object decisively.

My guess is they will replace it with a shiny glass box of very similar dimensions.
 
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