Billionaire Safra's 1,000-Foot London Tulip Gets Green Light

(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Joseph Safra won initial approval to build a 305-meter (1,000-foot) tower in the shape of a tulip next to his Gherkin skyscraper in London’s financial district.

The City of London Corporation’s Planning and Transportation Committee waved through the design by architects Foster + Partners. The plans for a slender tower topped with a glass dome could now be subject to further approval by the mayor of London and government ministers before work can begin.

“This is clearly a unique and very unorthodox proposal,’’ Gwyn Richards, head of design at the City of London Corporation, said before the vote on Tuesday. “We believe it deserves its place on the skyline.”

The Gherkin, which Safra bought for about 726 million pounds ($948 million) in 2014, was among the first of a new generation of skyscrapers built in London’s Square Mile after new planning rules were ushered in by former Mayor Ken Livingstone following his election in 2000. Approval of the plans could increase the value of the Gherkin and the land around it.

The Tulip would offer visitors rides in so-called gondola pods that loop around the outside of the building’s glass petals, according to the project’s website. The plans also include space for restaurants, bars, a viewing gallery and education spaces, as well as glass slides connecting some floors.

The proposal prompted objections from heritage groups including Historic Royal Palaces, which said Safra’s plan would diminish views of the Tower of London. The building would be the second tallest in London, after the Shard. The developers estimate that construction could be completed in 2025.

“This building has the potential to play an important role in realizing our vision of the Square Mile as a vibrant 24/7 city” that attracts weekend visitors, planning committee Chairman Chris Hayward said in an emailed statement following the vote.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jack Sidders in London at jsidders@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shelley Robinson at ssmith118@bloomberg.net, Patrick Henry, James Hertling

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.