St George has marked the construction of the 32nd floor of One Blackfriars, which will include a viewing lounge for the local community and businesses.
A reception to celebrate the construction milestone was attended by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Peter John, elected members and officers from the London Borough of Southwark, the GLA and representatives from local businesses.
Leader of the Council, Councillor Peter John said:
"The landmark One Blackfriars tower is a fantastic addition to London's skyline and signposts the gateway to Southwark; signifying the borough's continued success and on-going regeneration.
One Blackfriars makes an important contribution to our vision for the transformation of Blackfriars Road: delivering new homes, jobs, a boutique hotel and a landscaped public piazza. I am delighted that local residents are benefitting from employment and training opportunities on the development."
Managing Director of St George PLC, Michael Bryn-Jones said:
"We are delighted to be celebrating the construction of the 32nd floor of One Blackfriars, which will include the One Blackfriars Club Lounge. This unique community facility will provide spectacular views across London."
The 2,500 sq ft One Blackfriars Club Lounge will be available to local residents in SE1, community groups, local schools and colleges, businesses, residents of One Blackfriars and guests of the hotel.
When complete, One Blackfriars will comprise 274 homes, a landscaped public piazza, a boutique hotel and new retail space. One Blackfriars has provided £29 million for affordable housing in Southwark (the last payment was made in December 2016) and has already helped deliver 75 affordable homes at the Willow Walk development in Bermondsey.
One Blackfriars Club Lounge
The Club Lounge will be available by pre-booking and accessed from the public piazza. It was secured through a S106 agreement and will be available in perpetuity.
Users will pay a minimal change to cover cleaning and administration, with local residents and schools paying £50 for the first hour and £30 per additional hour.
About One Blackfriars
The One Blackfriars development is regenerating a previously vacant site on Blackfriars Road, which had been empty for a decade. Construction started in 2013 and is due to complete in 2018.
One Blackfriars will comprise 274 homes, a 161 bedroom boutique hotel, 14,000 sq ft of retail space, a viewing lounge on the 32nd floor of the tower and a new landscaped public piazza.
The £29 million affordable housing payment is contributing towards Southwark's council house building programme, including the Willow Walk development in Bermondsey which comprises 75 affordable homes. Residents moved into their homes at Willow Walk in January 2016, two years before One Blackfriars is due to complete.
The development is providing a further £6.6 million in contributions for local services, public realm and infrastructure.
St George is a partner of the Young Theatre Makers' programme, an employability initiative run by Southwark charity, London Bubble Theatre.
St George is committed to maximising local employment and training opportunities throughout construction. By January 2017, One Blackfriars has supported 30 work experience placements, 33 apprenticeships in a range of trades and over 100 formerly unemployed Southwark residents have found work on the development. The construction site has also hosted educational site visits from local schools and training initiatives, including Notre Dame Girls' School, South Thames College and the Young Theatre Makers' programme.
About St George
St George is proud to be a member of the Berkeley Group, London's leading mixed-use developer and a FTSE 250 company. We regenerate brownfield land to create thriving new communities in attractive landscaped environments.
Since 2007, St George has developed 91 acres of brownfield land; delivered 6,500 homes, 30% of which are affordable; completed 286,000 sq ft of commercial space; and created 29 acres of open space.
In 2002 St George was the first residential developer to be granted the Queen's Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development. The Berkeley Group as a whole received this prestigious accolade in 2008 and again in 2014.
The Berkeley Group has been voted one of Britain's 'Most Admired Companies' across all industries from 2012 to 2016. Other recent awards include Sunday Times Housebuilder of the Year in 2015, Estate Gazette's National Property Company and Residential Property Company of the year in 2015 and WhatHouse? Best Large Housebuilder in 2016.