Developer reveals plans for 31-storey City tower designed by Wilkinson Eyre

London developer CO-RE has revealed its plans for a new 31-storey office tower in the City of London designed by Wilkinson Eyre.

CO-RE, working for Aviva Investors, has published the first images of the 130 Fenchurch Street scheme ahead of an initial round of public consultation starting tomorrow.

The site, located on the southern border of the City’s main cluster of towers, is occupied by a 16-storey 1950s building, Fountain House, which currently lies vacant.

This will be demolished to make way for the new tower, which will contain office space on upper levels, a cultural space with public terraces at mid-height and retail units at street level.

It is Aviva’s second proposal for the site following a previous plan for a 17-storey tower drawn up by Farshid Moussavi Architecture which was mothballed four years ago.

>> See also: Aviva planning to nearly double the height of its planned City tower

A spokesperson for the project said Wilkinson Eyre’s rethink of the scheme, which is nearly double the height and floorspace of the previous proposals, would improve the site’s streetscape and public amenities.

It is also aiming to contribute to the Square Mile’s target to build 1.2 million sq m of office space by 2040 and its Destination City ambition, which aims to boost the City’s leisure offering.

Aviva Investors’ head of development and real estate Ben Littman said the tower would be a “showpiece” in a part of the City undergoing rapid development.

“Fenchurch Street is such a dynamic area in the City of London and arguably the epicentre of development activity in the capital,” he said. 

“Our proposals for 130 Fenchurch Street are designed to breathe new life into what is a tired, inefficient and outdated asset, and create a scheme which we think will be a showpiece in this exciting part of the City.”

The first round of consultation begins at midday tomorrow and will be open to submissions from members of the public until 3 January. A second round will be held in early 2025, with demolition of the site’s existing building set to start in early 2026 if the plans are approved.

Aviva appointed Wilkinson Eyre on the project more than four years ago but it was stalled until last July, when it brought in CO-RE, which is still waiting to find out if its ITV Studios redevelopment can go ahead, to mastermind the new scheme.

Aviva’s portfolio of schemes in the City include One Liverpool Street, designed by Eric Parry and being built by Mace, and 101 Moorgate, also being built by Mace, and designed by John Robertson Architects.