Diggers have moved in to begin work on the £90m Sutton Point development, one of two that are set to change the town centre skyline in years to come.
The site as it looks now
Developer CNM Estates plans to build more than 300 apartments, a 130-bedroom hotel, plus shops, restaurants and offices, on land between Sutton train station and Sutton Court Road.
Director James Robson said: "We expect to have the scaffolding facade up in about eight weeks' time and it will remain in place as we begin the stripping process.
"We anticipate that work will be finished by mid-2018, but some of it will be ready before then."
Digging out a basement level will also begin this year for underground parking and a possible tram link. Extending the tram service to Sutton is a major campaign for Sutton Council.
Earth-moving equipment has been seen at the South Point site in recent weeks, and the next step will be to strip away glass panelling from the 1964 monolith.
PREVIOUSLY:
Kingston-based CNM, which also owns Tolworth Tower, bought the site at the end of 2011 and revealed its first CGI images of how the development could look in spring 2013.
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