A large hole in a building site at the center of London's square mile — the prestigious district that houses the Bank of England and other major financial institutions — provides a bleak sign of the economic times in the European commercial property market.
Slated to fill the hole is the 47-story "cheese grater" building, just one of several new skyscrapers that are planned to transform the British capital's skyline.
But the global credit crunch has brought construction on the $500 million (286 million pound) project to a halt as its developers worry they won't find purchasers for the new office space — and there are fears that the slump in the British market will worsen conditions throughout Europe.
