Plans afoot for Puddle Dock regen scheme

Plans for one of the first large-scale post-Covid masterplan developments in London are being drawn up by Almacantar. The plans, in partnership with Network Rail, would deliver a long-awaited regeneration of the City’s Puddle Dock, a collection of post-war buildings next to Blackfriars Station, EC4. The initial proposals are for a 1.4 m sq ft office-led scheme to transform an under-utilised and traffic-dominated district into a new quarter of sustainable buildings. This would be up from around 740,000 sq ft of space currently on the site. The majority of the proposed scheme – some 900,000 sq ft – would be offices and 100,000 sq ft would be shops and restaurants. The initial proposals – drawn up by Bennetts Associates – are for nine buildings across the site. The plans include a 40,000 sq ft public roof garden with café with capacity for up to 1,000 people. At ground level, the scheme would open up the river frontage to provide a much-improved pedestrian section of the north bank of the Thames. Crucially, the plans include the removal of the White Lion Hill slip road, which cuts into the site. Some 40% of the existing structures would be retained to reduce the embodied carbon involved in redeveloping the site. Most of the site is freehold owned by the City of London, which is understood to be supportive of the proposals. Network Rail is also a freeholder and Almacantar bought One Puddle Dock in an off-market deal from Brookfield around a decade ago. The latter is a part freehold and part leasehold interest. One Puddle Dock had been part of the Hammerson office portfolio bought by Brookfield. The site is made up of three main components: One Puddle Dock, which is occupied by Network Rail; Two Puddle Dock, which is occupied by flexible/serviced offices and the Mermaid conference and events centre; and Baynard House, an office and telephone exchange building partially occupied by BT. BT has a long leasehold interest, while Hong Kong-based Grovendale has an interest in the Mermaid Theatre. The site is bounded by Queen Victoria Street to the north, the White Lion Hill slip road to the east, Blackfriars Station to the west and the River Thames to the south, with St Benet Paul’s Wharf Church located just beyond the slip road. The area is allocated within existing and emerging policy as a Key Area of Change within the City of London. “This is the last big block in the City where there is an opportunity to fundamentally change and improve it,” said Kathrin Hersel, executive director at Almacantar, who is leading the project. “It requires all landowners to come together to do something. Otherwise nothing will happen. Network Rail is already on board and we are talking to all the other investors.” Bennetts Associates has been appointed as masterplanner and Gerald Eve is advising on the development proposals. Consultation days are being held this month, with further consultation planned for the autumn. A planning application would then follow next spring or summer and Hersel said the scheme could be on site in 2028/9. Malory Clifford’s Blackfriars Developments won consent for a Will Alsop-designed hotel on the site of the Mermaid Conference Centre in 2010, but the scheme was never built. To send feedback, e-mail julia.cahill@eg.co.uk or tweet @EGJuliaC or @EGPropertyNews Images: Almacantar