New Development
During the eighties it became apparent that Seifert's building was not suitable as a modern office space and letting income dried up. The replacement Drapers Gardens is only 75 metres (246 ft) tall with 16 floors, three roof terraces and a pocket park, but at 270,000 square feet (25,000 m2) has more floor space. It is designed by Foggo Associates. The developers were Exemplar Developments and Canary Wharf Developments. It was completed in Autumn 2009. The development was then sold on to Evans Randall in 2010 for £242.5 million. Most of the floors of the building were originally taken by Macquarie, however BlackRock subsequently made a higher offer.
Between the demolition and rebuilding, an archaeological dig by Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd found Roman remains dating from 63 AD to 383 AD. These included a well with 19 metal vessels in an exceptional state of preservation, a ruler and the skull of a bear.
Read more about this topic: Drapers' Gardens
Famous quotes containing the word development:
“Every new development for the last three centuries has brought men closer to a state of affairs in which absolutely nothing would be recognized in the whole world as possessing a claim to obedience except the authority of the State. The majority of people in Europe obey nothing else.”
—Simone Weil (1909–1943)
“Creativity seems to emerge from multiple experiences, coupled with a well-supported development of personal resources, including a sense of freedom to venture beyond the known.”
—Loris Malaguzzi (20th century)