Skanska, which built the now iconic ‘Gherkin’ tower at 30 St Mary Axe, acquired the land between 11 and 19 Monument Street last year with a view to future development. It now has the necessary planning permissions to deliver 85,000 square feet of Grade A office space in the heart of central London and around 3,000 square feet of retail space.
Monument Street takes its name from the enormous Monument column, which stands at one end of the road there and is a historic landmark for the City of London, erected in the 17th century to commemorate the Great Fire of London that devastated much of the city in 1666.
Ken Shuttleworth and his firm, Make Architects, drew up plans for Skanska’s office and retail building. The Scandinavia-based multinational construction company behind it has said that once completed, it will occupy 40,000 square feet of the available office space at the City of London site.
A building currently stands between 11 and 19 Monument Street, but Skanska’s plans for the site include provisions for its demolition.
The City of London has several large-scale office building projects at various stages of development, including those generally referred to as the Walkie-Talkie Tower and the Cheesegrater Tower but officially known as 20 Fenchurch Street and 122 Leadenhall Street, respectively. One of the latest to receive the go-ahead is the so-called Scalpel, which will eventually become the European headquarters of the American insurance giant WR Berkley.
Editor’s Notes: The development, which became known as The Monument Building, commenced in December 2013 and was completed in May 2016. The office-led scheme totals 94,000 square feet and delivers 88,000 square feet of prime Grade-A office space with retail accommodation on the ground floor.
The building features cycle parking, shower facilities and a roof terrace with photovoltaic panels and achieved a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating.
The facade of the finished building, opposite the Christopher Wren Monument, has been described as following “the gentle sweeping curves of a grand piano”, as intended by the architects, JRA.
In April 2023, the penthouse 9th floor was available to let. Described as 4-Star office space, the 5,779-square-foot floor was available to rent at a quoted £90 per square foot.
The building sits in close proximity to providers of flexible office space and workspace solutions for those businesses that would prefer to occupy space on flexible contracts and with all-inclusive pricing. Profiles of those providers can be seen in this directory.
As of November 2026, there was no office space available to lease at The Monument building at 11-19 Monument Street, and the property appeared to be fully occupied.