The Tower, Meridian Quay
The Tower, Meridian Quay is a residential tower in Swansea, Wales. It is the tallest building in Wales. Standing at, Meridian Quay is the only skyscraper in Wales, 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, more than twice that of the previous tallest building in Swansea – the BT Tower. 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
In 2008, the penthouse apartment on the 26th floor was sold for £1 million.The 290-cover restaurant on the top of the tower was known as Penthouse before being taken over by Brains Brewery and renamed the Grape and Olive. The restaurant ceased trading in January 2023.