Winner lined up for £250m Landsec City office job

Three were chasing Hill House scheme next to developer’s New Street Square projectSkanska has won the deal to build a new office scheme being developed by Landsec in the City of London.Building understands the firm was told last week with the company pipping remaining rival Mace for the job called Hill House. A pitch from Multiplex was tailed off earlier in the process. Formal confirmation of Skanska’s appointment is expected next month.Current tenants include the Shoe Lane library with the current eight-storey scheme, on the corner of Shoe Lane and Little New Street in the New Street Square area of the Square Mile, having been designed by Ronald Fielding Partnership and opened in 1979.The new build job, which is expected to cost at least £250m, has been on firms’ radars for months although is not expected to start until 2026 at the earliest.Described by architectural historians as “an office block with windows deeply set into a moulded concrete frame, and a pronounced stair-tower” the building is 170,000 sq ft.The proposals will nearly treble the floorspace of the existing building and more than double its height.The scheme went in for planning last October with Apt appointed as lead architect.Landsec said in the application that its objective for the scheme is to “challenge the convention of what an office-led, mixed-use development should look like”.The project team includes QS Exigere, project manager Gardiner & Theobald, planning consultant Avison Young, structural engineer Waterman Structures, fire and acoustics engineer Hoare Lea and landscape architect Phil Allen Design.Also on the scheme are transport consultant Caneparo Associates, heritage and townscape consultant Tavernor Consultancy, WSP on equalities and health and David Bonnet Associates on accessibility.