LONDON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - London's Canary Wharf districthas submitted plans to build 3,100 homes alongside the area'sshiny skyscrapers, as its owners look to reduce theneighbourhood's reliance on the financial sector.
The plans centre on a 20-acre site called Wood Wharfadjacent to the main estate, which Songbird Estates -majority owner of Canary Wharf group - wants to develop into aneighbourhood of homes, offices and shops and make the estatemore appealing to a broader spectrum of tenants.
Demand for office space from banks has dried up since thefinancial crisis and rents are still falling in some buildingsin the City where some skyscraper floors are still empty.
Technology and media firms have since taken over as thebiggest source of demand for office space, and Canary Wharfhopes its latest plans will target both the firms and theirworkers.
Canary Wharf has evolved from derelict dockyards over thelast 20 years to rival London's City district. Its skyscrapersnow house over 100,000 financial sector workers. The estate,made up mainly of offices, first said it was consideringbuilding homes in September last year.
The plans, which have been submitted to the local councilfor approval, provide for 3,100 homes ranging from affordablehousing to luxury penthouses, 2.57 million square feet ofoffices and over 100 shops, as well as a primary school andhealthcare facility.
The area will be connected by over three football fieldsworth of parks, public squares and will be surrounded by akilometre of walkways on the docks.
Once permission is obtained, construction is expected tostart in the first quarter of 2014 on the first phase, whichwill include 884 apartments across three buildings and twooffice buildings totalling 216,000 square feet, the companysaid. The first buildings will be completed in 2017.