Brookfield Reveals Proposals For 99 Bishopsgate Tower

Brookfield Properties has published further details of its planned redevelopment at 99 Bishopsgate in the City of London after the first public consultation took place on 21 March.

The building is set to become the fifth-tallest office block in the Square Mile, and the latest designs from scheme architect Rogers Stirk Harbour have confirmed that the proposed building will comprise 54 storeys and a mix of uses. 

Plans are set to be submitted in the next few months for the project, which will include a street-level arcade and a 6-storey standalone cultural building for public use adjacent to the main tower.

In its consultation, Brookfield said “Our emerging vision for the future of the site will see a new landmark high rise commercial building within the Eastern Cluster, an area which is designated for tall buildings within the London Plan. The proposals will seek to respect protected views and have vertical greening which will be visible from street level.”

“The emerging plans would also seek to deliver a new cultural offer in a standalone building alongside extensive new, animated public spaces at ground floor, connecting to new and emerging pedestrian thoroughfares in and around the area.”

The new development will replace a 24-floor office block on the site that was built in 1976 and was damaged after an IRA bomb exploded nearby in 1993.

The restored building is presently home to contractor Multiplex, and consultation on the redevelopment will close on 12 April with Brookfield hoping to start on-site in 2026.

Brookfield said it hoped to retain and re-use elements of the existing building "where feasible" and that it would be targeting retention of 48% of the current building’s mass through the reuse of its existing foundation.

In its proposals, the developer added that the area around the site is going through major changes. There are recently completed developments at 8, 22 and 100 Bishopsgate, plus existing consents for 100 Leadenhall, 1 Undershaft at 85 Gracechurch Street and a recent consent for 55 Bishopsgate.

Liverpool Street station is also nearby. However, developer Sellar and Network Rail’s £1.5B proposals to redevelop the station have prompted a wave of opposition from the public and impacted organisations since it was made public last October.

More than 2,000 objections have been attached to the planning application to date, with Westminster and Hackney councils among those objecting. The planning application is expected to be considered later this year.