The Tower, Meridian Quay is a residential tower in
Swansea
Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
,
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
. It is the tallest building in Wales. Standing at 107 m (351 ft), Meridian Quay is the only skyscraper in Wales (buildings over 100 m tall) and one of several high-rises in Swansea.
Initially known as Ferrara Tower, it was part of the £50 million Meridian Quay housing and office development project. A planning application for the £40million building was approved in 2003 and construction work began in 2006.
On 26 January 2008, one of the construction workers died after falling three storeys from the tower. The construction company,
Carillion, chose not to release his name. A fire broke out on the 20th floor of the tower in April 2008 and took 45 minutes to extinguish.
The tower was
topped out to its full height on 12 September 2008.
The tower has 29 storeys, double the number of the previous tallest building in Swansea, the
BT Tower
The BT Communications Tower, also known simply as the BT Tower, is a Listed building, grade II listed Radio masts and towers, communications tower in Fitzrovia, London, England, owned by BT Group. It has also been known as the GPO Tower, the P ...
. Most of the tower houses residential apartments. The ground floor has a concierge desk which is staffed 24 hours a day, whilst the top three floors form the Altitude28 Restaurant & Sky Bar, opened December 1st 2024 to replace the previous restaurant Grape and Olive.
History
Previously restaurant on the top of the Tower was Grape and Olive run by the
Brains Brewery. This was opened following the unsuccessful 290 cover Penthouse restaurant. On the January 13th 2023 a notice was placed at the ground floor level warning customers that it is no longer currently operating. The notice read the following "The Grape and Olive is now officially closed until further notice. Apologies for any inconvenience caused."
In 2008, it was reported that the
penthouse apartment on the 26th floor was sold for £1 million.
Gallery
Image:Marina Tower UC Jan 2008.jpg, Tower under construction, January 2008
Image:Marina Tower UC March 2008.jpg, Tower under construction, March 2008
Image:Meridian_quay_tower_may_2008.jpg, Tower under construction, May 2008
Image:Meridian_Quay_Tower_Topping_Out.jpg, Tower topping-out, September 2008
Image:Bae Abertawe, Twr Meridian1.JPG, Tower from the breakwater during high tide, September 2010
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tower, Meridian Quay
Buildings and structures in Swansea
Swansea Bay
Residential skyscrapers in Wales
Residential buildings completed in 2008
Landmarks in Swansea