One Nine Elms is a mixed-use

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

Nine Elms Nine Elms is an area of south-west London, England, within the London Borough of Wandsworth, with some parts (including the Nine Elms tube station, tube station) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. It lies on the River Thame ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It was originally developed by Wanda One, a UK subsidiary company of Dalian Wanda, until they sold the project to R&F Properties, another Chinese firm in 2018. It was designed by architects Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF). The development replaces two towers on the site built in the 1970s called Market Towers and forms part of a wider redevelopment of the

area of London. The development consists of two towers: the 57-storey City Tower contains 334 homes, while the 42-storey River Tower contains a 203-room Park Hyatt luxury hotel and 103 luxury Park Hyatt-branded apartments. Upon completion in 2024, One Nine Elms became one of the tallest residential developments in London and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

History

Original proposal

In 2008, property developer Green Property bought the One Nine Elms Lane site, which lies in Nine Elms just south of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

within the

London borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in South West (London sub region), South West London, England. It forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main communities are Battersea, Balham, P ...

, from Allied Irish Bank. On 18 June 2012, Wandsworth Council granted planning permission to Green Property along with project managers CIT Group for a mixed-use scheme consisting of residential apartments, offices and shops to replace two 1970s buildings on the site known as the Market Towers. The approved proposals included two skyscrapers of 200 m (656 ft) and 161 m (528 ft).

Sale and design development

In June 2013, Green Property sold the One Nine Elms site to Chinese developer Dalian Wanda. The scheme, which was Dalian Wanda's first development outside of China, was originally overseen by Wanda One - a UK subsidiary of Dalian Wanda. In April 2014, Wandsworth Council approved revisions for the scheme subject to support from the then London Mayor

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

. In May 2014, Johnson gave permission for the revised proposals to go ahead despite criticism of the removal of office space from the scheme in order to accommodate a larger hotel which will be Dalian Wanda's first luxury hotel outside of China. A total of 436 residential apartments will also be built. Additionally, the design for One Nine Elms was revised which included the scrapping of a skybridge linking the two towers. The larger of the two skyscrapers is known as City Tower and has a height of , containing 58 floors. The smaller building, which is known as River Tower and contains the hotel, is tall with 42 floors. In July 2016, Wanda One arranged financing for the development. As part of the scheme, Dalian Wanda were required to pay £20m to contribute to the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

extension of the

Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs between North London and South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. It carries more passengers per year than any other Underground linearound 340million in 2019making it the bu ...

and for affordable housing which was built in another location.

Wider regeneration

The construction of One Nine Elms is part of a wider redevelopment of the Nine Elms area of London which will include 16,000 new homes as well as the relocation of the U.S. Embassy in London from

Grosvenor Square Grosvenor Square ( ) is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of Westminster, Greater London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was deve ...

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

Construction

Demolition of the Market Towers began in May 2014 by McGee Group and was completed in April 2015. Foundation works are taking place following demolition. In April 2015, it was announced that the developer had awarded the main contract for One Nine Elms to China's largest construction group China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) as well as Interserve in a joint venture known as CI-ONE. However, that deal collapsed in April 2016, with

Balfour Beatty Balfour Beatty plc () is an international infrastructure group based in the United Kingdom with capabilities in construction services, support services and infrastructure investments. A constituent of the FTSE 250 Index, the company is active ac ...

becoming the new contractor, signing a pre-construction agreement with Wanda One in July 2016. However, that contract came to an end in November 2016 after the two companies failed to agree terms for a new main build contract. In January 2017,

Multiplex Multiplex may refer to: Science and technology * Multiplex communication, combining many signals into one transmission circuit or channel ** Multiplex (television), a group of digital television or radio channels that are combined for broadcast * ...

was announced as the new main contractor for the development. In January 2018, Wanda sold their interest in the project to R&F Properties, another Chinese firm, for £59 million. In November 2020, it was announced that the complex's luxury hotel, originally to be branded as a Wanda Vista Hotel, would instead be branded as a Park Hyatt. Construction of One Nine Elms was expected to be completed in 2022. Progress slowed by February 2022 as R&F Properties was reported to have stopped paying the main contractor Multiplex. In June 2022, the company secured £772m of additional funding, and a new completion target date of late 2023 was set. The Park Hyatt London River Thames hotel is set to open in mid-2024. The building reached "practical completion" in June of 2024.

Location

The building is located on 1 Nine Elms Lane, in the London borough of Wandsworth. The nearest station is

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...

References

{{reflist, 3

External links

Park Hyatt London River Thames official websiteOne Nine Elms official page at KPF websiteR&F One Nine Elms archived official website
Hyatt Hotels and Resorts Kohn Pedersen Fox buildings Skyscrapers in the London Borough of Wandsworth Nine Elms