CouncilCanary Wharf & Docklands
Canary Wharf Estate
Canary Wharf is firmly established as one of Europe's premier business districts. The estate extends to more than 97 acres and is so called because when in use as a dock, many of the imports were from the Canary Islands.
Around 14 million square feet of Grade A office and retail space has already been built and leased out, and a further 6 million square feet are planned or under construction, including 10 landmark buildings.
Retail space has expanded to 740,000 sq foot, mostly in Canada Place, Cabot Place, Churchill Place and Jubilee Place. Cabot Place West was redeveloped recently and opened in March 2008.
The first tenants moved into Canary Wharf in August 1991. At the end of 2002 the working population of Canary Wharf was 55,000. The workforce across the Canary Wharf Estate rose to 93,000 by the end of 2007, and is expected to rise to 100,000 by 2010 and to 120,000 by 2012.
The development also includes a conference and banqueting centre, landscaped grounds and three underground car parks (in addition to car parking below the office buildings). The underground car parks offer discounted rates in the evenings and at weekends.
Canary Wharf Tower
One Canada Square, the 800 feet (244m) high Canary Wharf Tower, is the flagship of the Canary Wharf development.
The office complex has 50 floors and is the tallest building in Britain. The tower has 3,960 windows and 4,388 staircase steps. Luckily for those working on the upper floors, there are also 32 lifts, which travel from the lobby to the 50th floor in just 40 seconds.
Millennium Quarter
A master planning exercise has gone into the development of the Millennium Quarter is a 50-acre area that lies south of Canary Wharf and borders Millwall Inner Dock. It will become part of the new strategic commercial centre of Tower Hamlets. Ten sites are proceeding through planning stages.
The Millennium Quarter will offer a mix of offices, housing (for rent and sale), leisure, cultural activities, shopping and community facilities. Various landowners and developers are coming to the council with development schemes, which are assessed against the master plan.
