Affinity Sutton and Mount Anvil plan £160m mixed-use tower

Housing provider Affinity Sutton and property developer Mount Anvil have combined forces to plan a new £160m housing scheme dubbed “Silicon Tower”.

The landmark development is at 261 City Road, London, EC1, near the Silicon Roundabout cluster of tech businesses. It includes a 36-storey tower overlooking the Regent’s Canal.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Architects, who designed the world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, have been appointed architect for the scheme. The award-winning practice also created One World Trade Center in New York and the NATO headquarters in Brussels.

261 City Road will comprise 307 residential apartments, 107 of which will be affordable housing managed by Affinity Sutton, alongside 785m² of mixed-use commercial space.

Arranged around a landscaped courtyard, the apartments will have direct views over the City Road Basin.

There are plans to include a private residents’ spa with treatment rooms, a yoga room, a business lounge and private dining and function room within the luxury scheme.

The development forms part of the City Road Basin Masterplan, which will regenerate the former industrial land surrounding Regent’s Canal in the south-eastern part of Islington with three new developments on City Road, delivering high quality housing and open spaces.

Work on site is due to start in April 2012 and completion is expected by July 2016.

Killian Hurley, chief executive of Mount Anvil, predicts the development will deliver an uplift in prices for the City fringes. He said: “We aim to capture all the excitement and buzz surrounding the businesses and people working and investing in Silicon Roundabout. Our scheme will reflect this energy and creativity through bold, innovative design.

“We are confident that the penthouses will be selling at £1,500 per sq ft, setting new price levels for high-rise living in the area. This will be the ultimate city apartment in a dazzling tower.

“261 City Road is our eighth scheme in Islington. We have been at the forefront of regeneration in the borough since 2000 and currently have nearly 1,000 homes in development.”

Kerry Kyriacou, group director of new business and development at Affinity Sutton, said:  “We are really excited about providing well-designed, affordable new housing in such a vibrant part of the city that will also contribute to London’s housing needs and are delighted that the project includes high-quality affordable housing. 

“We are delighted to be working with Mount Anvil and we are an active developer in our own right with 6,000 new homes in development.”