Old School
SCHOOL conversions have become such a feature of the London property scene that it comes as a surprise to learn that the steady trickle of buildings released for housing is set to become a flood.
Dozens more primary and infant schools will close in the next few years as local councils take advantage of the Government?s ?5 billion programme to build new schools.
Victorian and Edwardian schools are obvious targets for developers: fine brick-built structures, usually at the centre of community locations, with terrific scope for loft-style living. Homebuyers love the double-height spaces and big windows. Moreover, most schools are self-contained sites with a boundary wall providing privacy and security ? gated communities in the inner city without being fortress-like.
About 700 school apartments are for sale or in the pipeline in London.
Urban 7, in Holloway N7, comprises 34 apartments in an old school and 12 more in a newly built block alongside. Loft purists will be saddened by the small interiors of some of the flats: one-bedroom apartments start at a bijou 340 sq ft. Two-and three-bedroom apartments range up to almost 1,000 sq ft.
Layouts differ: Some flats are lateral with high ceilings, but most have a mezzanine level for bedroom and en-suite bathroom, with an open-plan kitchen and living area below. Prices from ?249,950.
Later this year, developer Crest Nicholson will start work on a school in Shepperton Road, N1. This will be turned into 24 flats.
Nearby is the former Angel School, which had four major developers offering up to ?10 million for the site. Emblem Homes, the successful bidder, is converting the listed building into 35 apartments, priced from ?260,000. Completion is due in summer 2005.
Hackney, like Islington, is ripe territory for school conversions, with the local council keen to make some cash. One of the best redevelopments is Arthouse, up the road from Hoxton Square.
The design-conscious location seems to have inspired developer Capital & Provident to go a little further in terms of specification. The company has employed interior designer Paul Daly, a Hoxton local.
His formula is to keep as many original features as possible and fit out the space using materials such as granite and stainless steel. The combination of old and new works well.
De Beauvoir Town is a fast-gentrifying pocket on the Islington/Shoreditch border ? 20 per cent cheaper that Angel, according to estate agent Thomson Currie. The conservation area comprises Georgian and Victorian terrace houses, so new apartment are few and far between.
Developer Telford Homes has converted the local neighbourhood school, with prices from ?275,000. Call 020 7354 5224. Reproduced with kind permission of the Evening Standard.
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