Columbus Court back on course

The construction boom picked up speed last week with the announcement that development of the Canary Wharf site is set to go ahead over the summer.

The development will comprise two buildings on the Columbus Court Yard site covering an estimated 175,000 square feet on the north-west side of the complex.

The foundations at Columbus Court were built in the 1980s but construction was halted due to a funding crisis.

Prior to construction, the design of the buildings seems likely to be updated.

The Canary Wharf complex was long viewed as a white elephant of the 1980s. However, three years ago a consortium including Saudi Prince Al Waleed bin Talal, Canadian developer Paul Reichmann and media mogul Larry Tisch rescued the development by paying receivers œ800 million.

Canary Wharf is now valued at in excess of œ1 billion.