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Capital Tower, originally known as Pearl Assurance House, is a
Construction was started in 1967 and completed on schedule at a cost of £1.5 million, with the building being officially opened on 7 April 1970 by Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan, Sir
Capital Tower - official website
* {{Landmarks and Visitor Attractions in Cardiff Landmarks in Cardiff Office buildings in Cardiff Towers in Wales Skyscrapers in Wales Skyscraper office buildings in the United Kingdom Office buildings completed in 1970
Capital Tower, originally known as Pearl Assurance House, is a high-rise building
A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdicti ...
in Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...
, Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
. Standing at to roof height, Capital Tower is slightly taller than Stadium House, which stands at to roof height (though inclusion of the antenna gives Stadium House a pinnacle height of ).
History
Thefoundation
Foundation may refer to:
* Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization
** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S.
** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
s were built on the ruins of a 12th-century friary
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...
, much of which had still stood until 1955. These were completely cleared for the tower to be constructed, although it is probable that under modern planning laws this would not have been allowed.
Construction was started in 1967 and completed on schedule at a cost of £1.5 million, with the building being officially opened on 7 April 1970 by Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan, Sir Cennydd Traherne
Sir Cennydd George Traherne (14 December 1910 – 26 January 1995) was a notable Welsh landowner.
Sir Cennydd was born at Coedarhydyglyn near Cardiff, and was educated at Wellington College and Brasenose College, Oxford.
He owned Dyffryn Ho ...
. It was originally known as Pearl Assurance House, after the Pearl Assurance
Phoenix Group Holdings plc (formerly Pearl Group plc) is a provider of insurance services based in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
History
The company was founded in 1857 as ...
company.
For a long period it was the tallest building in Wales, until it was beaten by Swansea's The Tower, Meridian Quay
The Tower, Meridian Quay is a residential tower in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It is the tallest building in Wales. Standing at 107 m (351 ft), Meridian Quay is the only skyscraper in Wales (buildings over 100 m tall) and one of several hig ...
completed in 2009.
The building provides of floor space, Originally, a job centre, bookshop
Bookselling is the commercial trading of books which is the retail and distribution end of the publishing process. People who engage in bookselling are called booksellers, bookdealers, bookpeople, bookmen, or bookwomen. The founding of librar ...
and galleries were built on the lower floors, but in 1998 they were replaced by a new set of developments including cafe-bars, and the multi-storey car park
A multistorey car park ( British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a bui ...
s were re-clad. At this time the building received its current name, Capital Tower.
On 25 November 2002, the tower was sold for £17.4 million by Aberdeen Property Investors to the Raven Group. In August 2012, DTZ secured the £12.35 million sale of Capital Tower and Friary House to the Topland Group.
In 2018 the building was for sale at an asking price of £23.4 million.
The building currently houses offices for The Law Society, ranstad, AA, DevOpsGroup, Allianz
Allianz ( , ) is a German multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management.
The company is one of the world's largest insurers and financial services groups. Th ...
, Yard, Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...
and Dolmans.
See also
*List of tallest buildings in Cardiff
This is a list of the tallest buildings in Cardiff that are in height and above in the capital of Wales. They include buildings ranging from the ornate civic centre to the historic Cardiff Castle and Llandaff Cathedral.
The city's growth is ...
References
External links
Capital Tower - official website
* {{Landmarks and Visitor Attractions in Cardiff Landmarks in Cardiff Office buildings in Cardiff Towers in Wales Skyscrapers in Wales Skyscraper office buildings in the United Kingdom Office buildings completed in 1970