An eighties office block returned to residential: eleven apartments including two penthouses with river views. GDV £17.5m.
Transaction facts
| Service | Development |
| Location | Covent Garden, WC2 |
| Scheme | Eleven apartments, including two penthouses |
| Gross development value | £17.5m |
The brief
A Victorian building modernised in the 1980s and given over to offices, on a street most people walk past. One minute from Embankment Gardens and the Thames, two minutes from Trafalgar Square, three from Covent Garden market. As offices it was unremarkable. As homes it had one of the better addresses in the WC2 postcode and, from the top, a view of the river.
What we did
We bought the building and enhanced the planning position, taking it from its office use to a consented scheme of eleven apartments, including two penthouses laid out to make the river view the point of the flat rather than an incidental. The works were substantial — a little over £3m — because a 1980s office conversion leaves very little worth keeping.
The result
A gross development value of £17.5m. The two penthouses carry a disproportionate share of it, which is the argument for spending the design effort at the top of a building rather than spreading it evenly.