It's not every day that a whole new block of skyscrapers is proposed for London, even with the current construction boom but Ballymore, the Irish property developers are currently making a play for the big time with their massive proposals for the Millenium Quarter. The latest of these is Crossharbour, destined for the site of the London Arena.
SN.com went along to their exhibition to see just what all the fuss was about.

History.
London Docklands Arena was part of the original plan in the 1980s to breathe some life into the decrepit Isle of Dogs. Unfortunately it's location far from main roads, the poor public transport links that only saw the Docklands Light Railway go to it and the over abundance of indoor arenas in the capital already such as Earl's Court and Wembley Arena didn't see it become a major success.
Then Canary Wharf happened, and with that development now reaching critical mass for a CBD the property prices rocketed. The sale of the Millenium Dome to a corporation intending to convert it to a sporting arena nailed the final piece of metal into the coffin and the land was put up for sale.

The Development.
Ballymore who are already developing the nearby Arrowhead Quay purchased the land with grand plans for a series for two million square feet of space, including a landmark office tower at the very center of the development. They called in Skidmore Owings and Merril LLP, one of the leading archietectural firms based in Chicago.
SOM envisaged six towers, an office tower, a hotel tower, and four residential towers which is where the big money lies.
They were faced with the difficulty of adapting Ballymore's grand ambitions to such a limited site. One major problem is the DLR which simply didn't fit in with the development and will have to be dismantled and rebuilt as a result. It's likely that this is a pragmatic move too to appease the planning board of Tower Hamlets Council who have been sceptical about very tall buildings in the Millenium Quarter due to the limitations of the DLR. The new station though will be larger than the previous one, with a longer platform and more passenger capacity.
There is harmony though within the project with the heights of the second row of buildings away from the water stepping up gradually from south to north.

Project Details.
The Crossharbour development will be a mixed use project containing a grand total of 2million square feet of space, thats 185,000 square meters.
This will include a 400-bed, 4-star hotel and conference centre hotel tower, 1,062 apartments including affordable housing in four towers, and a 664,000 square feet of offices in a landmark 157m tall tower
The complex will consist of a grand total of 6 towers, including a landmark 34-storey office tower. There will be an ice-rink at the base of the tallest tower in true New York Style.
The site is currently occupied by the London Arena who will continue occupying it until 2004 when a 20,000 seat arena opens in the Millenium Dome. Then construction will begin with completion estimated at 2008.

The Model.
There was a reasonably detailed model on display which features a semi complete Millenium Quarter. As you can see from these pictures it's obvious from this how little land they actually had to work with when you compare the scale of the development to how widely spaced Heron Quays are.

	From the south- west.	Looking south from Heron Quays	From the east.	Close up from the east

Future Prospects.
Things are certainly looking positive for this development. It's in a prime area that needs new development, without it the London Arena will be left to rot. There are none of the limiting factors in planning that the City and West End suffer from and with the increasing demand for living space near where people work and the lack of it on the Isle of Dogs this project looks very good.
The sale of apartments should be able to fund the construction of the office building speculatively, and the hotel is a wise move too given the increasing business demands in the area.
Many local people though oppose the development saying that they are being driven away from the area, a point that is doubtful at best as no-one lives in the London Arena except perhaps a janitor.
The only doubts are that perhaps Tower Hamlets won't like the disruption caused by moving the DLR and insist on a slight redesign, the council also has concerns that their creaky transport system will collapse under the demand so may also ask for a height reduction in the office tower which currently excedes those in the Millenium Quarter.
That said with the emphasis of the development on highly profitable housing, including the politically correct social housing that town planners love Ballymore shouldn't be able to lose and eventual planning permission seems more than likely.