CityPoint
CityPoint (previously known as Britannic House and Britannic Tower) is a skyscraper on Ropemaker Street on the northern fringe of the City of London.
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[edit] Design and construction
Originally named Britannic House, CityPoint was built in 1967 as a 35-storey, 122 metres (400 ft) tall headquarters for British Petroleum (now BP). The designers were F. Milton Cashmore and H.N.W. Grosvenor.[1]
In 1991, British Petroleum moved back to their original headquarters on Finsbury Circus, and it was renamed Britannic Tower.
It was refurbished in 2000, with additional floor space and the height increased to 127 metres (417 ft). The designer for the refurbishment was Sheppard Robson.[2] It was renamed CityPoint after its refurbishment. Its anchor tenant is Simmons & Simmons, a law firm.
It is currently the fifth tallest building in the City, after Heron Tower, Tower 42, 30 St Mary Axe, and the Broadgate Tower, but only the thirteenth tallest in Greater London.
In August 2005, its owner, Pillar Properties sold the building for more than £500m, one of the largest deals ever seen in the City office market.
In early 2007, the building was again put on the market, this time for £650m, and sold to a private US company, Beacon Capital. At the time, this it was the most expensive building ever sold in the UK. However, 8 Canada Square in Canary Wharf eclipsed this by some margin in April 2007, when it was sold for over £1 billion.
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by St Paul's Cathedral |
Tallest Building in the City of London 1967—1980 122m |
Succeeded by Tower 42 |
[edit] Redevelopment of the area
A number of other large buildings are being planned on sites nearby. These include a 43-storey, 140 metres (459 ft) residential tower at Milton Court. A 90 metres (295 ft) office tower at Ropemaker Place has also been developed by British Land.
