Home Start

Dubbed, ‘The best village-living in the heart of South-West London’, The 1840 has taken the grand red brick Grade II-listed Victorian gothic building in SW17 that was once Springfield Hospital and converted it into a collection of up-market one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Many have been snapped up for their high-spec interiors, secure parking, on-site concierge, private gardens and communal spaces. Prices from £570,000.

Not a stone’s throw away, on the borders of Earlsfield and Wimbledon and still in the SW17 postcode, is the vast new area called Wimbledon Grounds, with 600 new homes encircling the new stadium for Wimbledon FC on Plough Lane. One-, two- and threebed flats, virtually all with balconies and some with roof terraces, including access to a squash and fitness club, are part of the Galliard Homes new-builds. Prices from £405,000. The conversion of the historic Young’s’ Brewery in SW18 into Ram Quarter and its 338 apartments mixed with cafés, bars, restaurants and cinema has been hugely successful. The award-winning design by EPR Architects included a riverside walk and Heritage Centre. At the time of writing only four apartments remain, three of them in Coopers’ Lofts.

In the heart of the Heaver Estate in Balham SW17 is an eight-unit development in one of Huron Road’s elegant doublefronted houses. Four of the apartments from Mandora Developments remain at the time of going to press, marketed through Rampton Baseley. Prices from £475,000. If riverside living catches your imagination, then the iconic Grade IIlisted Battersea Power Station and its 42 surrounding acres is the major development in the SW8 area that promises to change our skyline forever.

The site has been brought back to life over the last decade in a £9bn eight-phased mixed-use project of shops, restaurants, homes, leisure facilities, riverfront and even its own Tube station. It is already home to 1,500 residents in Phase 1, the Art Deco-themed Circus West Village of 865 homes, and a further 254 stunning homes opened their doors to residents last May in the Power Station itself. The latter feature original brick and steelwork dating back to the 1930s, Crittal windows and state-of-the-art appliances and technology, all with access to the rooftop gardens and a close-up of the towering 51-metre chimneys. Prices from £865,000. Coming this month and over the summer is Phase 3 of homes dubbed ‘architectural masterpieces’ designed by globally acclaimed architects either side of Electric Boulevard. The first collection has been created by Gehry Partners, known worldwide for iconic buildings, among them the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. This is the first time Frank Gehry has designed residential spaces in London.

His architectural wizardry is showcased in Prospect Place, built to resemble the billowing sails of ships and with no two homes the same. Each has access to a private garden and its own wintergarden or terrace, and the scheme is split into two themes – LA for adventure and excitement brought out in blues, golds and chromes of the 1950s, and London for history and architecture, imbued in rich foliage and traditional stone and brick masonry. Prices from £995,000. Similarly, some 436 high-spec homes have been designed by Foster + Partners behind an undulating façade called Battersea Roof Gardens complete with rooftop pool.

Homebuyers can choose between a cloud or steam palette. Prices from £995,000 and completion is due this July. Demand has been high for these latest architectural gems and few remain as most have been sold off-plan. Coronado Developments made its hallmark in Nappy Valley a few years back with a row of stylish townhouses on Bolingbroke Terrace in SW11. Now it’s built an executive gated development off The Drive near Wimbledon Village in SW20 comprising 13 freehold, four-bed spacious homes with private gardens and either garages or allocated parking. Blossom Square homes feature European oak doors with satin chrome ironmongery, engineered European solid oak wooden flooring and large format Italian porcelain tiles. Kitchens feature integrated appliances, wine coolers, European composite stone worktops and feature LED concealed lighting. Bathrooms feature Duravit sanitary ware, walk-in shower units, recessed LED lighting throughout and Italian porcelain tile finishes to walls and floors. Prices from £3.5m. Close proximity to shops and the Tube can’t be improved upon at The Pavement in Clapham Old Town, a collection of six highspec, two-storey apartments sitting behind Little Waitrose and with front doors on to Clapham High Street. In each, an openplan kitchen, diner and sitting room faces a south-west-facing balcony. Engineered oak flooring, Shaker-style kitchen, underfloor heating and the smart Farrow & Ball Stiffkey Blue colour dominates. Sold with share of freehold. At the time of going to press, two had been sold through Marsh & Parsons and completion is due in Q2. Prices from £600,000. Rumours abound at time of writing that Argos on Balham High Road will turn into 42 apartments, so the changing skyline of Nappy Valley shows no sign of abating.