European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 17, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Europe s largest redevelopment project faces Tough times the 50-Story Canary wharf shown nearing completion last year is the tallest building in Britain. By William Tuohy the los Angeles times the Gigantic offic e building its 800-foot, 50-Story exterior Clad in stainless steel and topped by a shining Pyramid gleams in the sunlight a monumental new London landmark towering Over the satellite buildings around it. This is Canary wharf Centrepiece of the London docklands redevelopment along the lower thames River. It is Europe s largest Urban renewal project. The Canary wharf  a sort of new Jerusalem for planners architects financiers and for the major investor Toronto based Olympia amp York. All Hope that it will flourish As a financial Center and be the key to revitalization of a once teeming area left desolate sinc e shipping traffic began shifting downriver 20 years ago. Docklands also provides a depending on the sharply differing views of its supporters and detractors a c Lassic example s of  c an go right and what c an go wrong in huge Urban projects. Critic s c complain of poor transportation planning displacement of longtime residents Lack of shopping and entertainment opportunities Lor the new residents and housing pric e s beyond the reach of prospective buyers Hurt by tlu1 economic slump that followed the Stock Market crash of i 87. Docklands champions Call it Quot the new business City of  View is right there is no question that economic realities Cloud its future. Many financial and real estate specialists fear that the Centrepiece Canary wharf May prove to be a spectacular Flop As a financial Center a White elephant that May bankrupt the developers. A London newspaper Hie Independent asked Quot a c angry or a Turkey Quot the dramatic buildings of Quot Wall Street on the water Quot Are opening their floors to tenants a the first arrived at the end of August a amid London s worst property slump since world War ii. Another major drawback Tor Canary wharf is its location on the isolated Isle of dogs a a Bend in the thames with poor transportation to the City of London financial Center and few amenities for the thousands of Soltice workers expected. The1 2 it buildings that will eventually make up the Canary wharf Complex will contain 10 million Square feet of Otili e space with 50,000 employees anticipated. But that space will be competing with millions of Square foot of vac ant offic e s available in the prestigious City of London and in i Ondon s West end where established or up and coming e companies traditionally have1 been Loc ated. In its broadest aspect the docklands redevelopment zone Strati i s trom lower Bridge eight mile s eastward along the winding i Hames. I he d u be themselves the open waiter spaces one closed 11\ locks with quays next to them a wore dug out of Midi funds to accommodate ships Laden with lie lie s 200 Cedis ago when i i Aulon was the world s busiest poit. Canary w liar Itsell imported goods from the1 finals Vlantis. I lie 1 Den is suis Seel the be Iman Blitz of world War ii but w Ith the Ilee line1 Eit shipping and its shirt loss Nisei to tile e out a i net Poi t of ill nil a i of la lie is Eleterio Rale d into an zulus anal wasteland. 1 in i Ondon i docklands did Velo Pinsent corp. Was created in la 8l to help Desi Lepors re vitalize the Region through a e Complex mix of Public and i is ate renewal plans and lax Lieo Quot enter poise  the Canary a liar e Ompoc x is the a souled he Jess Al in the1 Doe lands i Assn. The initial dose Loper Eil c angry Whart Waie Travelstead of 1 exas bailed out in 1 a up and t a pm \ York one of the world s most successful property companies bought in. Owned by Canada s reclusive Reichmann Brothers Olympia amp York had taken Over a similar project in new York the world financial Center at the Southern tip of Manhattan in the Early 1980s. When prime minister Margaret Thatcher Laid the docklands foundation Stone in 1987, prospects looked Good. Office space was in demand. If the Reichmann could build at $145 per Square foot and rent space at $50 to $60 per Square foot the project would be paid for in three years. The elegantly detailed buildings have Marble floors Granite York Stone Bronze and brass door handles. They have a solid look that some have compared to the style of downtown Chicago and new York architecture of the 19.10s. The skyscrapers Are complemented with 25 acres of squares Parks fountains Flower Beds and Waterside promenades on Canary wharf s 91-acre site. Yet even As pile Drivers were sinking foundations and cranes were hoisting steel girders a growing recession and the downturn that followed the Stock Market crash were sending the financial property Market into a tailspin. Suddenly companies thinking about moving to the docklands were changing their plans dec deling to remain in the c Ity because rents there were falling from a High of $120 per Square foot in 1988-89 to about $50 per Square foot or about what Canary wharf was asking. Meanwhile the whole docklands redevelopment project t was the target of severe criticism. The a dec critic s said overlooked the needs of those already Liv ing in the area in its Rush to court developers who would provide commercial Soltice space and pricey Home s Lor new Soltice workers. I Lii ii too the govern me it and the1 a dec Only he  Day realized that the Isle of dogs and other docklands areas were not Well served by Public transportation or roads and streets. Coins tic Tion was hastily begun on a transit train average Speed 1 i Ingli known As the docklands Light railway which Only recently was connected into the i Ondon subway system. The computer driven railway built on the c Heap with $ i 30 million in Public funds tin in d out to be abysmally Short of Capac Ity and has been plagued by breakdowns delays and undersized stations. Similarly the biggest hunk of Public funds a $2.9 billion a was earmarked for improving roads. More than $500 million is being spent for the 1 i mile Limehouse link Britain s most expensive Highway which will not be finished until 1993. Traffic jams on routes to the Isle of dogs Are endemic. Quot our company was the first to come Here about five years ago and the word is that when the other companies Start moving in we Are moving out Quot said Albert Adams a shipping company employee. Quot this is basically because of the transport situation. The roads Are congested the Light railway is inadequate and expensive. Our organization will probably move Back to the City which is what a lot of other firms have  at the same time expensive new residential units a once touted As dreamy Riverside havens for trendy windsurfing professionals a were hit by the recession and fallout from the Market crash. Prices were simply too High to attract enough buyers to fill the buildings. As for recreation new docklands homeowners found themselves with nothing much to do in the evenings except take the Light Railroad into town a and face the fact that it does t operate after 9 . The failure to live up to the dream and the recession that followed the Stock Market collapse put Many Young executives out of work or on reduced incomes. So fancy residential condominiums such As Butler s wharf on the South Bank where teas and spices were once unloaded went bust As did the beautifully redone and ambitious tobacco wharf project which billed Itsell As London s shopping Village. Still Olympia amp York says that it is pressing ahead with plans to Complete the Canary wharf Complex by 1997 26 buildings with 10 million Square feet with 200 shops and a 400-room hotel. But As of now 10 years after the a dec was created a and after an expenditure of close to $2 billion in Public funds and More than $14 billion in private Vioney a docklands As a whole in the words of the financial times is Quot a bewildering blend of futuristic inspiration and familiar  a 24 stripes Magazine october 17, 199/ a