London church tower suspended 45 feet above ground as 50 Fenchurch Street development proceeds

A 700-year-old church tower in central London has been suspended 45 feet above ground as part of a major redevelopment at 50 Fenchurch Street, described by developers as a never-seen-before feat of engineering. The Grade I-listed tower of All Hallows Staining Church is being balanced on stilts above a 60,000-square-foot excavation for a 36-storey, 650,000-square-foot office block that will replace the Clothworkers Livery Hall, a building that has occupied the site for centuries.

The bottoming-out ceremony, held on Tuesday, signaled a key milestone in the project, following the removal of more than 125,000 tonnes of earth from beneath the tower to create the basement levels. Those basements will reunite the church tower with ground level and form part of a new green public space that will snake through the site.

The 36-storey tower will house about 62,000 square metres of office space and, on its tenth floor, offer a 360-degree public realm experience. The scheme also includes an underground livery hall, ground-floor shops and a public garden roof, all designed to enhance the City of London’s work-life balance while expanding a new civic space for workers and visitors.

Development partner AXA IM Alts, the investment arm of the French insurer, is delivering the project, which would replace the existing seven-storey Clothworkers block and integrate with other historic site structures. As part of the current redevelopment, the Clothworkers Hall and the church hall of St Olave Hart Street have already been demolished to clear the footprint.

The plan faced opposition from Historic Royal Palaces, which manages the Tower of London, over concerns that the project would block protected views. Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund also opposed the development, arguing it could infringe on rights and expectations around the surrounding skyline. In 2020 the City of London Corporation approved the project, saying it would not produce unacceptable environmental impacts in terms of noise, air quality, wind, daylight and sunlight, or overshadowing.

Howard Dawber, deputy mayor of London for business and growth, attended the bottoming-out ceremony and said: "Fifty Fenchurch Street is a remarkable project and I am delighted to attend this unique ceremony that marks a significant construction milestone for this 36-storey flagship development. Development projects like this one in the City of London highlight our capital's position as a world-leading destination for leading businesses to invest." The development is scheduled for completion in 2028, delivering a blend of office space, public realm and green features amid a landmark urban renewal in the Square Mile.