Helical confirmed it has exchanged a development agreement with Transport for London for the Over Station Development.

It said: “A new 150 year lease is to be granted on handover of the site which is due in April 2018 shortly after which construction is expected to begin”

The site has planning permission for a PLP designed six storey office building of 90,000 sq ft, incorporating a retail/restaurant unit on the corner of Lindsay Street and Charterhouse Street,.

It will sit above the Farringdon East Crossrail Station built by Bam Ferrovial Kier Joint Venture.

The building will sit immediately to the east of Smithfield Market with views over Charterhouse Square and it also benefits from an extensive roof terrace with views towards St Paul’s Cathedral.

Completion of the scheme is expected in October 2019.

Farringdon East Crossrail Station is due to be operational in December 2018.

Matthew Bonning-Snook, Property Director at Helical, said: “We are a great believer in the potential of the area given the significant impact of Crossrail and due to the wealth of cultural and public realm improvements that are planned and underway locally.

“Our adjacent office scheme overlooking Charterhouse Square, which is fully let, together with our Barts Square project which delivers a new urban quarter to the City and Smithfield, further highlights this belief.”

“We will deliver a stunning statement building enlivened by fine-scaled elevations inspired by the 19th century warehouses that frame the historic Smithfield Market.

“The external treatment of the building is sympathetic to its surroundings and reflects the colour palette of the architecture in the area, including vertical terracotta fins which will provide a different reading to each elevation dependent on the direction from which the building is viewed.”