Camomile Street scheme would be firm’s third and tallest in Square Mile’s eastern cluster

Camomile Street

Source: Google

Camomile Street in the City of London

Fletcher Priest is working up plans for a 40-storey tower in the City of London’s eastern cluster for AXA IM Alts, the investment arm of French insurance giant Axa, Building  Design can reveal.

The office scheme is in early development and has not yet gone in for planning but would stand on Camomile Street, next to KPF’s 46-storey Heron Tower.

It would be the third and tallest Fletcher Priest-designed tower in the cluster if built, joining the firm’s 32-storey 55 Gracechurch Street and the 24-storey 55 Old Broad Street, both of which have been approved.

The practice is also working on a £200m makeover of a 1980s building on the Broadgate campus with a 13-storey newbuild block, which will be built by Multiplex, and a 12-storey scheme at 100 Fetter Lane, which is being built by Mace.

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The Camomile Street scheme is understood to be a stepped tower with a series of heavily planted balconies providing outdoor breakout space for occupiers.

A spokesperson for AXA IM Alts said it is “currently undertaking an early stage consultation to help inform its plans for a potential transformation of two low rise 1980’s office buildings at 63 St Mary Axe and Camomile Court. 

“Our emerging proposals bring forward a highly sustainable redevelopment of the site to create a new landmark building that delivers best in class office space in the City’s Eastern tall building cluster, alongside enhanced urban greening and new public realm.  Further details will be announced in due course as the plans evolve.”

The scheme would be the latest in a crop of new towers planned for the cluster, which is set to grow at a rapid pace over the next few years following the City’s zoning initiative earmarking the area as the only place in the square mile suitable for buildings more than 100m tall.

Other schemes announced recently include a £500m rejig of 60 Gracechurch Street by Sellar which has been drawn up by Danish practice 3XN

Other big cluster schemes unveiled in the last year include RSHP’s 54-storey 99 Bishopsgate, Eric Parry’s 74-storey redesign of 1 Undershaft which was submitted for planning in January and Orms’ £250m revamp of Deutsche Bank’s office at 75 London Wall although this will be low-rise and involves adding an extra three storeys to the existing 10-storey building.

Fletcher Priest has been contacted for comment.