Did you know that the City of London will soon have three major developments called 'Heron'? It's all very exciting. If you like buildings named after herons.
The Heron Tower: completed earlier this year at 110 Bishopsgate, this major tower is currently the tallest building in the City at 230m (to top of spire). Its position on the junction of an old Roman crossroads gives it added prominence. The Heron Tower mostly comprises office space (see our tour), but will also contain a public restaurant (SushiSamba) in its upper floors, and an already-open dining space down at the base. There's also a massive fish tank in reception...unconnected with the sushi restaurant, we hope.
The Heron: a half-built residential development off Silk Street near the Barbican. Standing 112 metres tall, it'll compare with the three tall blocks on the Barbican Estate, the loftiest of which is 123 metres. The tower should be fit for occupation in 2013, when a top apartment will set you back over £5 million. The penthouses have yet to be valued.
Heron Plaza: the third Heron will stand next to the already complete Heron Tower on Bishopsgate, on a site currently under demolition. As well as another restaurant and apartments, the tower will incorporate the City's first purpose built luxury hotel in several decades, ran by Four Seasons. This one will reach 135 metres, a little bigger than, say, Centrepoint. The name 'Heron Plaza' will also encompass the public space outside the tower (and the existing Heron Tower, so we are cheating just a little bit by listing this separately).
Herons: long-legged freshwater and coastal birds, most likely to be glimpsed on the banks of the Thames at the southern edge of the Square Mile.
The towers all take their names from Heron International, a property development company. The name of that organisation is itself derived from its founder Henry Ronson. Kudos to the guy. Other than a handful of saints, we can't think of any other person with three major developments to their name within the Square Mile.
