Broadgate

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The Broadgate site features several works of public art, the largest of which is Richard Serra's 55 ft (17 m) high, free standing sculpture, Fulcrum 1987.
The Broadgate site features several works of public art, the largest of which is Richard Serra's 55 ft (17 m) high, free standing sculpture, Fulcrum 1987.
Part of the Broadgate Centre, viewed from the top of the Willis Building. The cranes for the new Broadgate Tower can be seen in the background.
Part of the Broadgate Centre, viewed from the top of the Willis Building. The cranes for the new Broadgate Tower can be seen in the background.

Broadgate is a large, 32 acres (129,499 ) office and retail estate in the City of London, owned by British Land and managed by Broadgate Estates. The original developer was Rosehaugh: it was built by a Bovis / Carillion joint venture and was the largest office development in London until the arrival of Canary Wharf in the early 1990s.

The modern and mainly-pedestrianised development is located on the original site of Broad Street station (closed in 1986) and beside and above the railway approaches into Liverpool Street station.

The perimeter of the managed estate is Bishopsgate to the east, Sun Street, Appold Street and the eastern part of Worship Street to the north, the southern part of Wilson Street to the west and Eldon Street and Liverpool Street to the south. Included in the estate are Broadgate Circle and Exchange Square. Boundary changes made in 1993 now place the entire estate within the City of London - previously a part was in the London Borough of Hackney. [1]

Several different companies have participated in the development of the estate, but since 2003 the whole estate has been owned by British Land, which has been involved since 1984. Statistics from British Land state that the estate provides 360,000 square metres (3,900,000 ft²) of office, retail and leisure accommodation spread over 129,000 square metres (32 acres) and over 30,000 people are employed there.

Any photography around the site including the public square which houses the 'Fulcrum' sculpture is banned by on-site security personnel.[citation needed]

There are plans to substantially expand the estate to the north with the construction of a 538-foot (164 m) skyscraper called the Broadgate Tower, which will become the 3rd-tallest building in the City after Tower 42 and the 30 St Mary Axe. This building stands over the railway tracks out of Liverpool Street station and will add more than 820,000 sq ft (76,000 m²) of commercial floorspace to the estate. Construction will be finished in the summer of 2008.

Broadgate Estates manage other major office and retail developments in London such as Paternoster Square, home of the London Stock Exchange.

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Coordinates: 51.52034° N 0.08300° W