The owners of HSBC’s 1.1M SF former HQ in Canary Wharf have submitted proposals for one of the largest office retrofit projects ever undertaken, with plans to create a new mixed-use scheme.

The 45-storey office tower at 8 Canada Square is owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, and the retrofit project, which could cost £800M to £1B, is being led by Canary Wharf Group, which is jointly owned by QIA and Brookfield. 

Retrofitting a building produces significantly less carbon than knocking it down and redeveloping it. But retrofitting big buildings is quite challenging. In that sense, the HSBC project is being watched by the market as a template for how to refurbish large offices, given so many buildings of the same late 1990s and early 2000s vintage need to be upgraded.

The 34th through 41st floors will comprise a 181-room luxury hotel, while the top four floors will become a visitor experience with a viewing gallery, restaurants and bars. 

The second to 33rd levels will remain offices, although HSBC has moved out of the building. It originally envisaged moving its entire London operation to a new 550K SF office in the City, but it turned out it needed more space, so it leased 210K SF in 40 Bank Street in Canary Wharf.

Tenants looking for big chunks of space in London, including BlackRock, have been linked to 8 Canada Square. 

Aesthetically, the new design by KPF involves cutting out elements of the facade of the original buildings to create a series of balconies. 

At ground floor, that involves creating a new passage through the bottom of the building lined with retailers. 

Canary Wharf Group also announced that it sold 1-5 Bank Street, the UK HQ of Société Générale, to Brookfield and QIA for £625M and that it would use the proceeds to repay debt.