Plan to turn listed building in City into apartments gets green light

Plans to turn a grade II listed Victorian building in the City of London into serviced apartments have been given the green light.

The Albert Buildings at the junction of Queen Victoria Street, Cannon Street and Queen Street will be turned into 39 serviced apartment units above retained retail and restaurant space.

Constructed in 1872 as speculative office accommodation, Albert Buildings is one of the City’s most recognisable nineteenth-century commercial buildings. Defined by its richly ornamented stone façades, repeated arched windows and elegant curved corner addressing Queen Victoria Street and Cannon Street, the building has remained largely unchanged for more than 150 years.

But client Witton Properties said large parts of the 2,500sq m building, which has been used as serviced office space, have been underused in the wake of changing office use “presenting an opportunity to secure the building’s long-term future through a carefully considered programme of renewal”.

Now plans by Emrys Architects will see existing stone façades conserved, while shopfronts will be reinstated. Internally, new lifts and a staircase will be added while a series of “unsympathetic additions” will be taken down.

Emrys said the building’s rooftop accommodation will be clad in dark-grey zinc shingles which it said was taking inspiration from the styles found in the Bow Lane Conservation Area.

Others working on the scheme include planner Rolfe Judd Planning, heritage consultant Cornwallis Rumley, energy and sustainability consultant Milieu Consult, fire consultant The Fire Surgery and structural engineer David Akera.