Tag: accommodation

  • The Icing on the Cake

    The Icing on the Cake

    Octagonal Victorian Gothic landmark in Westchester County, New York available for rent; Bono was filmed there and it includes the only domestic Egyptian Revival room in existence

     

    A Victorian Gothic house in Irvington, Westchester County, New York that resembles a wedding cake has been put on the market to rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month).

     

    Built for a financier named Paul J. Armour between 1859 and 1860, this octagon shaped and domed landmark was subsequently home to the author Carl Carmer (1893 – 1976) – best known for his widely praised book Stars Fell on Alabama – between 1940 and his death. The building was later the main setting for the less popular (and seized and confiscated in the UK under Section 3 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959) 1981 horror film The Nesting and then completely renovated by the award winning conservationist architect Joseph Pell Lombardi.

     

    The Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International Realty
    The Octagon House in 1882 and 1975
    The Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International Realty
    The Octagon House in the 1981 film “The Nesting”; the then owner launched a $1 million lawsuit against the filmmakers after they supposedly trashed the building

     

    Known alternatively as the Armour-Stiner House, the Carmer Octagon House, The Octagon House or simply 45 West Clinton Avenue, the National Register of Historic Places listed residence is being marketed by agents William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty as “one of the most visually unique homes in the world.” It stands on a plot close to the Hudson River of 3.05 acres, provides 8,400 square foot of accommodation and has a drawing room, dining room, ballroom, 7 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Within the grounds is an original Lord & Banham conservatory and a carriage house that provides garaging for 4 vehicles.

     

    Especially impressive architectural features of the building number the only domestic Egyptian Revival room still in existence, an attic with a staircase to a stunning cupola and a wraparound veranda with 56 columns. In the 2007 film Across the Universe, the billionaire Irish singer-songwriter Bono (playing a character named ‘Dr Robert’) described The Octagon House as the “Headquarters of the League of Spiritual Deliverance.” It most definitely abounds in such.

     

    The Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International Realty The Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International RealtyThe Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International RealtyThe Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International RealtyThe Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International Realty The Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International RealtyThe Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International Realty The Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International RealtyThe Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International Realty The Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International RealtyThe Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International Realty The Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International Realty The Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International RealtyThe Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International RealtyThe Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International RealtyThe Icing on the Cake – Armour-Stiner Carmer Octagon House, 45 West Clinton Avenue, Irvington, Westchester County, New York, NY 10533, United States of America – To rent for £30,300 per month ($40,000, €33,200 or درهم147,000 per month) through William Pitt Sotheby′s International Realty

  • Pritikin’s Folly

    Pritikin’s Folly

    Kitsch San Francisco mansion turned private museum that houses everything from Hitler memorabilia to a portrait turned down by Prince Philip for sale for £9.5 million

    The collection of a former advertising executive turned San Francisco based bon viveur named Robert C. Pritikin – better known as ‘Bob’ to his friends – includes everything from Hitler’s Swastika armband and his personal world globe (supposedly acquired by American soldiers at the end of the Second World War) to a portrait of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh of which the royal once proclaimed: “I bloody well wouldn’t hang it on the walls of Buckingham Palace.”

     

    Pritikin houses these items – and others including a replica electric chair, a mural featuring the cult leader Jim Jones, an exact replica of Rembrandt’s ‘The Night Watch’ and an original J. M. W. Turner painting – in a totally eccentric neo-classical mansion in the Glen Park area of the city. He built the property in 1987 and though it provides 9,966 square foot of accommodation it is primarily designed as an entertaining space and museum rather than a conventional family home.

     

    Pritken’s Folly – Chenery House, 47 Chenery Street, San Francisco, California, CA 94131, United States of America – For sale for £9.5 million ($12.5 million, €10.4 million or درهم45.9 million) through Joel Goodrich – Currently home and private museum of Robert C. Pritken
    Bob Pritikin with the portrait Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh so loathed
    Pritken’s Folly – Chenery House, 47 Chenery Street, San Francisco, California, CA 94131, United States of America – For sale for £9.5 million ($12.5 million, €10.4 million or درهم45.9 million) through Joel Goodrich – Currently home and private museum of Robert C. Pritken
    The mansion-cum-museum Pritikin built in 1987 for his collection is now for sale
    Pritken’s Folly – Chenery House, 47 Chenery Street, San Francisco, California, CA 94131, United States of America – For sale for £9.5 million ($12.5 million, €10.4 million or درهم45.9 million) through Joel Goodrich – Currently home and private museum of Robert C. Pritken
    Artworks in the building include a mock electric chair
    Pritken’s Folly – Chenery House, 47 Chenery Street, San Francisco, California, CA 94131, United States of America – For sale for £9.5 million ($12.5 million, €10.4 million or درهم45.9 million) through Joel Goodrich – Currently home and private museum of Robert C. Pritken
    There also many murals inside and outside of Chenery House

     

    Now offered for sale for £9.5 million ($12.5 million, €10.4 million or درهم45.9 million) by the equally flamboyant realtor Joel Goodrich, Chenery House – or plain old 47 Chenery Street – has hosted guests including Liberace and Mickey Rooney. The building is dominated by a top floor swimming pool with glass retractable roof, a vast ‘showroom’ with adjoining display rooms but also comes with 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. There is a 4-car carport, a garden cottage and a three unit building with two 2 bedroom units and one 1 bedroom unit.

     

    Hidden from the street at its entrance and adjoining the Fairmount Elementary School on another, Chenery House stands on a 1 acre plot crammed to the brim with art pieces, murals and statues. It was offered by Pritikin to the City of San Francisco as an official mayoral residence in 2004 but after they declined he has since rented it for weddings and events.

     

    In 2014, of living there, Pritikin remarked: “It’s a fun place to live. I would build the exact same house if I had to do it again, and in the unlikely event that I kick the bucket I intend to have my ashes buried here.” Though that will now unlikely happen, this true eccentric’s spirit will no doubt live on in spite of whoever eventually purchases what has to be one of America’s most whacky compounds.

     

    Pritken’s Folly – Chenery House, 47 Chenery Street, San Francisco, California, CA 94131, United States of America – For sale for £9.5 million ($12.5 million, €10.4 million or درهم45.9 million) through Joel Goodrich – Currently home and private museum of Robert C. PritkenPritken’s Folly – Chenery House, 47 Chenery Street, San Francisco, California, CA 94131, United States of America – For sale for £9.5 million ($12.5 million, €10.4 million or درهم45.9 million) through Joel Goodrich – Currently home and private museum of Robert C. PritkenPritken’s Folly – Chenery House, 47 Chenery Street, San Francisco, California, CA 94131, United States of America – For sale for £9.5 million ($12.5 million, €10.4 million or درهم45.9 million) through Joel Goodrich – Currently home and private museum of Robert C. Pritken

  • Big Shorting Gatsby

    Big Shorting Gatsby

    Long Island mansion with links to ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘The Big Short’ for sale for £13.1 million (or 152% more than it sold for in 2011)

     

    F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 – 1940) set his ‘Roaring Twenties’ classic The Great Gatsby in the fictional locations of East Egg and West Egg on Long Island and now one of the homes that inspired him is available for sale.

     

    Owned by Cornwall Capital founder James Mai – a man whose firm ironically made over 80 times its capital by buying credit default swaps on CDOs prior to the 2008 financial crisis – and his wife Chiara since 2011, 235 Middle Neck Road at Sands Point on Long Island’s Gold Coast was built in 1926 and home to the Rumsey-Harriman railroad dynasty from 1929.

     

    Fitzgerald is said to have spent time at the residence learning about “the lifestyle of the moneyed aristocracy of Old Westport, Long Island, and their involvement in the movement of eugenics” from the Rumseys and ironically, James Mai, is also representative of a clash between ‘old’ and ‘new’ money. In 2008, he and his partner are said to have been the ones “screaming about [the coming crash] as loud as they could, but everyone turned a deaf ear.” The character Jamie Shipley, played by Finn Wittrock in the 2015 film The Big Short, is loosely based upon him.

     

    Big Shorting Gatsby – The Rumsey-Harriman Estate, 235 Middle Neck Road, North Shore, Long Island, Sands Point, NY 10050 – For sale for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million) through Compass and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty – Owned by James and Chiara Mai of Cornwall Capital and said to be inspiration for Egg Point in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
    Current owners Chiara and James Mai are said to have spent vast sums on the renovation of the estate

     

    Featuring 11,955 square foot of renovated accommodation that includes formal and informal entertaining spaces, 13 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms. There is also a 6-car garage with a 3-bedroom caretaker’s cottage, a 4-bedroom beachside cottage and a boat house.

     

    Outside, on a plot of some 5.3 acres, there is a 391-foot private beach, a tennis court and in spite of its seeming isolation, the property is situated just 29 miles from Downtown Manhattan and 25 minutes by boat.

     

    235 Middle Neck Road is listed by Nava Mitnick of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International. In December 2016, of it, she commented: “Obviously, it’s so imposing – you drive down and see the sweeping views. But when we entered the house, I described it as a ‘glorified cottage’, because it’s so homey.”

     

    235 Middle Neck Road – The Numbers

     

    August 2017 – Relisted for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million).

     

    December 2016 – Listed for sale for £15.4 million ($19.8 million, €16.6 million or درهم72.7 million).

     

    June 2011 – Sold for £5.2 million ($6.675 million, €5.6 million or درهم24.5 million).

     

    February 2011 – Listed for sale for £7.7 million ($9.9 million, €8.3 million or درهم36.4 million).

     

    Big Shorting Gatsby – The Rumsey-Harriman Estate, 235 Middle Neck Road, North Shore, Long Island, Sands Point, NY 10050 – For sale for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million) through Compass and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty – Owned by James and Chiara Mai of Cornwall Capital and said to be inspiration for Egg Point in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.Big Shorting Gatsby – The Rumsey-Harriman Estate, 235 Middle Neck Road, North Shore, Long Island, Sands Point, NY 10050 – For sale for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million) through Compass and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty – Owned by James and Chiara Mai of Cornwall Capital and said to be inspiration for Egg Point in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.Big Shorting Gatsby – The Rumsey-Harriman Estate, 235 Middle Neck Road, North Shore, Long Island, Sands Point, NY 10050 – For sale for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million) through Compass and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty – Owned by James and Chiara Mai of Cornwall Capital and said to be inspiration for Egg Point in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Big Shorting Gatsby – The Rumsey-Harriman Estate, 235 Middle Neck Road, North Shore, Long Island, Sands Point, NY 10050 – For sale for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million) through Compass and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty – Owned by James and Chiara Mai of Cornwall Capital and said to be inspiration for Egg Point in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.Big Shorting Gatsby – The Rumsey-Harriman Estate, 235 Middle Neck Road, North Shore, Long Island, Sands Point, NY 10050 – For sale for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million) through Compass and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty – Owned by James and Chiara Mai of Cornwall Capital and said to be inspiration for Egg Point in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.Big Shorting Gatsby – The Rumsey-Harriman Estate, 235 Middle Neck Road, North Shore, Long Island, Sands Point, NY 10050 – For sale for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million) through Compass and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty – Owned by James and Chiara Mai of Cornwall Capital and said to be inspiration for Egg Point in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Big Shorting Gatsby – The Rumsey-Harriman Estate, 235 Middle Neck Road, North Shore, Long Island, Sands Point, NY 10050 – For sale for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million) through Compass and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty – Owned by James and Chiara Mai of Cornwall Capital and said to be inspiration for Egg Point in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.Big Shorting Gatsby – The Rumsey-Harriman Estate, 235 Middle Neck Road, North Shore, Long Island, Sands Point, NY 10050 – For sale for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million) through Compass and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty – Owned by James and Chiara Mai of Cornwall Capital and said to be inspiration for Egg Point in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.Big Shorting Gatsby – The Rumsey-Harriman Estate, 235 Middle Neck Road, North Shore, Long Island, Sands Point, NY 10050 – For sale for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million) through Compass and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty – Owned by James and Chiara Mai of Cornwall Capital and said to be inspiration for Egg Point in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.Big Shorting Gatsby – The Rumsey-Harriman Estate, 235 Middle Neck Road, North Shore, Long Island, Sands Point, NY 10050 – For sale for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million) through Compass and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty – Owned by James and Chiara Mai of Cornwall Capital and said to be inspiration for Egg Point in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.Big Shorting Gatsby – The Rumsey-Harriman Estate, 235 Middle Neck Road, North Shore, Long Island, Sands Point, NY 10050 – For sale for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million) through Compass and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty – Owned by James and Chiara Mai of Cornwall Capital and said to be inspiration for Egg Point in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.Big Shorting Gatsby – The Rumsey-Harriman Estate, 235 Middle Neck Road, North Shore, Long Island, Sands Point, NY 10050 – For sale for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million) through Compass and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty – Owned by James and Chiara Mai of Cornwall Capital and said to be inspiration for Egg Point in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Big Shorting Gatsby – The Rumsey-Harriman Estate, 235 Middle Neck Road, North Shore, Long Island, Sands Point, NY 10050 – For sale for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million) through Compass and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty – Owned by James and Chiara Mai of Cornwall Capital and said to be inspiration for Egg Point in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Big Shorting Gatsby – The Rumsey-Harriman Estate, 235 Middle Neck Road, North Shore, Long Island, Sands Point, NY 10050 – For sale for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million) through Compass and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty – Owned by James and Chiara Mai of Cornwall Capital and said to be inspiration for Egg Point in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.Big Shorting Gatsby – The Rumsey-Harriman Estate, 235 Middle Neck Road, North Shore, Long Island, Sands Point, NY 10050 – For sale for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million) through Compass and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty – Owned by James and Chiara Mai of Cornwall Capital and said to be inspiration for Egg Point in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.Big Shorting Gatsby – The Rumsey-Harriman Estate, 235 Middle Neck Road, North Shore, Long Island, Sands Point, NY 10050 – For sale for £13.1 million ($16.88 million, €14.2 million or درهم62 million) through Compass and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty – Owned by James and Chiara Mai of Cornwall Capital and said to be inspiration for Egg Point in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

  • Rent Like A Royal

    Rent Like A Royal

    Grade I listed house in Richmond Old Deer Park, Surrey that is owned by the Crown Estate and was originally a royal observatory to rent for £450,000 per year

     

    A Grade I listed house set on 6.6 acres of World Heritage Site and Grade I listed land in the middle of the Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Course has been listed to rent for £37,500 per month ($48,300, €41,000 or درهم177,300 per month).

     

    Extending to 6,157 square foot in total but quite manageable in terms of the accommodation provided, The King’s Observatory in Old Deer Park, Richmond upon Thames was designed by the Scottish-Swedish architect Sir William Chambers (1723 – 1796) and used by King George III (1738 – 1820) to house his extensive collection of scientific instruments. It features the oldest cupola in the world specifically constructed to allow astrologists to “track the rare phenomenon of Venus crossing the sun.”

     

    Owned by the Crown Estate, the building was used as a classroom for royalty, was converted to provide a home for the Meteorological Office from 1910 to 1980 and became the offices of Hill Samuel Bank and then Autoglas until 2011. Plans were approved to convert to a single residence in 2014 but features including a cinema, games room, gym, underground swimming pool and garaging for 16 cars were not actually constructed.

     

    The King’s Observatory – which was built in 1769 – is offered by Knight Frank and includes 5 reception rooms, 4 bedroom suites and a large roof terrace.

     

    Rent Like A Royal – The King’s Observatory, Old Deer Park, Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, TW9 2SB – Grade I listed house in Richmond Old Deer Park, Surrey that was originally a royal observatory to rent for £37,500 per month ($48,300, €41,000 or درهم177,300 per month) via agents Knight Frank. Rent Like A Royal – The King’s Observatory, Old Deer Park, Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, TW9 2SB – Grade I listed house in Richmond Old Deer Park, Surrey that was originally a royal observatory to rent for £37,500 per month ($48,300, €41,000 or درهم177,300 per month) via agents Knight Frank. Rent Like A Royal – The King’s Observatory, Old Deer Park, Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, TW9 2SB – Grade I listed house in Richmond Old Deer Park, Surrey that was originally a royal observatory to rent for £37,500 per month ($48,300, €41,000 or درهم177,300 per month) via agents Knight Frank.Rent Like A Royal – The King’s Observatory, Old Deer Park, Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, TW9 2SB – Grade I listed house in Richmond Old Deer Park, Surrey that was originally a royal observatory to rent for £37,500 per month ($48,300, €41,000 or درهم177,300 per month) via agents Knight Frank. Rent Like A Royal – The King’s Observatory, Old Deer Park, Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, TW9 2SB – Grade I listed house in Richmond Old Deer Park, Surrey that was originally a royal observatory to rent for £37,500 per month ($48,300, €41,000 or درهم177,300 per month) via agents Knight Frank.Rent Like A Royal – The King’s Observatory, Old Deer Park, Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, TW9 2SB – Grade I listed house in Richmond Old Deer Park, Surrey that was originally a royal observatory to rent for £37,500 per month ($48,300, €41,000 or درهم177,300 per month) via agents Knight Frank.

  • Flying a White Elephant

    Flying a White Elephant

    Orange County mega-estate sold last for £14 million on an original asking price of £67 million offered for sale again for £43 million after death of owner

     

    The largest residential estate on the Newport Coast of California is back on the market. One Pelican Hill Road North in Newport Beach – alternatively known as ‘Villa Del Lago’ or ‘Villa of the Lake’ – is a property with an extraordinary past and though listed on construction for £67 million in 2009, eventually sold at a fire auction in 2012 for just £14 million. Its subsequent owner, a Japanese industrialist and publisher, death has now resulted in it being placed for sale again and this time £43 million is sought.

     

    Situated on a plot of 12.47 acres and comprising 17,706 square foot of ‘Italianate-style’ accommodation, One Pelican Hill Road North was last marketed as having 8 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms. On a new, dedicated marketing page for it, it is now being promoted as having, amongst other things, 2 screening rooms, a china/silver room, an “indoor lap pool with fibre optic twinkling star ceiling”, a 14-car garage and a “wine cave”. Outside, there is a “cascading private lake”, stabling, a riding ring, a putting green, an “organic edible garden” and potential for a vineyard.

     

    Jeffrey Janger and Linda Janger of Pace Properties have the listing currently but given another agent, Michael Gosselin of Surterre Properties, previously commented: “Newport Coast has yet to see any homes sell for more than $20 million (£15.5 million)”, it’ll be likely there’ll be a few price cuts yet.

     

    One Pelican Hill Road North – The Extraordinary Numbers

     

    2003 – Land purchased for $3.2 million by Monarch Estates. Subsequent construction loans total $27.3 million.

     

    February 2009 – Completed house placed for sale for sale for $87 million by a realtor named John McMonigle, the managing member of a partnership developing the project.

     

    May 2010 – Price reduced to $57 million.

     

    January 2011 – Three offers received, all were below $37 million and not accepted.

     

    April 2012 – Offered at a court-sanctioned auction with “no opening bid sought”. Sold for $18.5 million to Toshiaki Ogasawara, an industrialist and publisher of the Japan Times.

     

    January 2017 – Placed on the market after Ogasawara’s death in December 2016 for $55 million.

     

    Flying a White Elephant – One Pelican Hill Road North, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, CA 92657 – Once listed at £67 million and sold for £14 million. Now for sale again for £43 million after death of owner Toshiaki Ogasawara – Offered by Pace Properties. Flying a White Elephant – One Pelican Hill Road North, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, CA 92657 – Once listed at £67 million and sold for £14 million. Now for sale again for £43 million after death of owner Toshiaki Ogasawara – Offered by Pace Properties.Flying a White Elephant – One Pelican Hill Road North, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, CA 92657 – Once listed at £67 million and sold for £14 million. Now for sale again for £43 million after death of owner Toshiaki Ogasawara – Offered by Pace Properties. Flying a White Elephant – One Pelican Hill Road North, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, CA 92657 – Once listed at £67 million and sold for £14 million. Now for sale again for £43 million after death of owner Toshiaki Ogasawara – Offered by Pace Properties.Flying a White Elephant – One Pelican Hill Road North, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, CA 92657 – Once listed at £67 million and sold for £14 million. Now for sale again for £43 million after death of owner Toshiaki Ogasawara – Offered by Pace Properties.Flying a White Elephant – One Pelican Hill Road North, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, CA 92657 – Once listed at £67 million and sold for £14 million. Now for sale again for £43 million after death of owner Toshiaki Ogasawara – Offered by Pace Properties. Flying a White Elephant – One Pelican Hill Road North, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, CA 92657 – Once listed at £67 million and sold for £14 million. Now for sale again for £43 million after death of owner Toshiaki Ogasawara – Offered by Pace Properties. Flying a White Elephant – One Pelican Hill Road North, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, CA 92657 – Once listed at £67 million and sold for £14 million. Now for sale again for £43 million after death of owner Toshiaki Ogasawara – Offered by Pace Properties. Flying a White Elephant – One Pelican Hill Road North, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, CA 92657 – Once listed at £67 million and sold for £14 million. Now for sale again for £43 million after death of owner Toshiaki Ogasawara – Offered by Pace Properties.Flying a White Elephant – One Pelican Hill Road North, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, CA 92657 – Once listed at £67 million and sold for £14 million. Now for sale again for £43 million after death of owner Toshiaki Ogasawara – Offered by Pace Properties. Flying a White Elephant – One Pelican Hill Road North, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, CA 92657 – Once listed at £67 million and sold for £14 million. Now for sale again for £43 million after death of owner Toshiaki Ogasawara – Offered by Pace Properties.Flying a White Elephant – One Pelican Hill Road North, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, CA 92657 – Once listed at £67 million and sold for £14 million. Now for sale again for £43 million after death of owner Toshiaki Ogasawara – Offered by Pace Properties. Flying a White Elephant – One Pelican Hill Road North, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, CA 92657 – Once listed at £67 million and sold for £14 million. Now for sale again for £43 million after death of owner Toshiaki Ogasawara – Offered by Pace Properties.Flying a White Elephant – One Pelican Hill Road North, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, CA 92657 – Once listed at £67 million and sold for £14 million. Now for sale again for £43 million after death of owner Toshiaki Ogasawara – Offered by Pace Properties.Flying a White Elephant – One Pelican Hill Road North, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, CA 92657 – Once listed at £67 million and sold for £14 million. Now for sale again for £43 million after death of owner Toshiaki Ogasawara – Offered by Pace Properties.Flying a White Elephant – One Pelican Hill Road North, Newport Coast, Newport Beach, Orange County, California, CA 92657 – Once listed at £67 million and sold for £14 million. Now for sale again for £43 million after death of owner Toshiaki Ogasawara – Offered by Pace Properties.

  • Breaking For Gold

    Breaking For Gold

    Thatched seaside cottage in West Sussex for sale; it has a plot laid out in the style of the Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal winning garden of 1936

     

    A thatched seaside cottage on what has been described as “the Sussex Riviera” has gone on sale for £3.25 million ($4.19 million, €3.67 million or درهم15.39 million) through agents Savills.

     

    Having the look of something you might also find in the Hamptons in America, The Breakers on the Willowhayne Estate at East Preston, near Littlehampton was built in 1936 in the Arts and Crafts style and restored over the last nine years by the current owners.

     

    Providing 6,006 square foot of accommodation over three floors, the house includes 4 reception rooms, 6 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms. It stands on a 0.75-acre beachside plot laid out in the plan of the winning garden at Chelsea Flower Show in 1936 and has an outdoor swimming pool – built in 2010 – also.

     

    A neighbouring house, owned by one of the original question setters for the game Trivial Pursuit, burnt to the ground in January 2014.

     

    Breaking For Gold – Savills seek £3.25 million ($4.19 million, €3.67 million or درهم15.39 million) for The Breakers, 29 Tamarisk Way, Willowhayne Estate, Angmering-on-Sea, East Preston, Littlehampton, Arun District, Sussex Riviera, West Sussex, BN16 2TEBreaking For Gold – Savills seek £3.25 million ($4.19 million, €3.67 million or درهم15.39 million) for The Breakers, 29 Tamarisk Way, Willowhayne Estate, Angmering-on-Sea, East Preston, Littlehampton, Arun District, Sussex Riviera, West Sussex, BN16 2TEBreaking For Gold – Savills seek £3.25 million ($4.19 million, €3.67 million or درهم15.39 million) for The Breakers, 29 Tamarisk Way, Willowhayne Estate, Angmering-on-Sea, East Preston, Littlehampton, Arun District, Sussex Riviera, West Sussex, BN16 2TEBreaking For Gold – Savills seek £3.25 million ($4.19 million, €3.67 million or درهم15.39 million) for The Breakers, 29 Tamarisk Way, Willowhayne Estate, Angmering-on-Sea, East Preston, Littlehampton, Arun District, Sussex Riviera, West Sussex, BN16 2TE Breaking For Gold – Savills seek £3.25 million ($4.19 million, €3.67 million or درهم15.39 million) for The Breakers, 29 Tamarisk Way, Willowhayne Estate, Angmering-on-Sea, East Preston, Littlehampton, Arun District, Sussex Riviera, West Sussex, BN16 2TEBreaking For Gold – Savills seek £3.25 million ($4.19 million, €3.67 million or درهم15.39 million) for The Breakers, 29 Tamarisk Way, Willowhayne Estate, Angmering-on-Sea, East Preston, Littlehampton, Arun District, Sussex Riviera, West Sussex, BN16 2TEBreaking For Gold – Savills seek £3.25 million ($4.19 million, €3.67 million or درهم15.39 million) for The Breakers, 29 Tamarisk Way, Willowhayne Estate, Angmering-on-Sea, East Preston, Littlehampton, Arun District, Sussex Riviera, West Sussex, BN16 2TE Breaking For Gold – Savills seek £3.25 million ($4.19 million, €3.67 million or درهم15.39 million) for The Breakers, 29 Tamarisk Way, Willowhayne Estate, Angmering-on-Sea, East Preston, Littlehampton, Arun District, Sussex Riviera, West Sussex, BN16 2TEBreaking For Gold – Savills seek £3.25 million ($4.19 million, €3.67 million or درهم15.39 million) for The Breakers, 29 Tamarisk Way, Willowhayne Estate, Angmering-on-Sea, East Preston, Littlehampton, Arun District, Sussex Riviera, West Sussex, BN16 2TE Breaking For Gold – Savills seek £3.25 million ($4.19 million, €3.67 million or درهم15.39 million) for The Breakers, 29 Tamarisk Way, Willowhayne Estate, Angmering-on-Sea, East Preston, Littlehampton, Arun District, Sussex Riviera, West Sussex, BN16 2TEBreaking For Gold – Savills seek £3.25 million ($4.19 million, €3.67 million or درهم15.39 million) for The Breakers, 29 Tamarisk Way, Willowhayne Estate, Angmering-on-Sea, East Preston, Littlehampton, Arun District, Sussex Riviera, West Sussex, BN16 2TEBreaking For Gold – Savills seek £3.25 million ($4.19 million, €3.67 million or درهم15.39 million) for The Breakers, 29 Tamarisk Way, Willowhayne Estate, Angmering-on-Sea, East Preston, Littlehampton, Arun District, Sussex Riviera, West Sussex, BN16 2TE

  • Flop or Fly?

    Flop or Fly?

    London estate agents launch three properties priced over £25 million each on General Election day

     

    Pundits may be referencing worrying times ahead in Britain’s post-Brexit economy, but London’s top tier estate agents have come out all guns blazing on General Election day and launched a series of jaw droppingly priced properties.

     

    In Knightsbridge’s Lennox Gardens, SW1X – where a similar, though situated on the much more sought after first-floor, apartment was promoted for what then seemed an ambitious £27.5 million ($35.6 million, €31.7 million or درهم130.9 million) in 2015 – Savills showcased a 6,392 square foot second floor flat with a basement annex priced at an even more punchy price of £35 million ($45.4 million, €40.3 million or درهم166.6 million). Aside from 2 vast reception rooms, 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, it comes with not only a fingerprint recognition security system but also 2 gymnasiums, a sauna, a steam room, a treatment room, a wine cellar and even a juice bar.

     

    Elsewhere, this morning, on the UK’s top property portal, OnTheMarket.com, agents Knight Frank listed an apartment in Eaton Square, SW1W for £25 million ($32.4 million, €28.8 million or درهم119 million) whilst Aylesford announced the sale of a house in The Boltons, SW10 for £57.5 million ($74.5 million, €66.2 million or درهم273.8 million). Whether we get Corbyn or May, one is left with just one question: Will these super-prime properities flop or will they fly?

     

    Flop or Fly? London estate agents launch three properties priced over £25 million each on General Election day 2017.
    The main reception room of the £25 million Lennox Gardens apartment on the first floor of ‘The Lennox’, 31-33 Lennox Gardens, Knightsbridge, SW1x

    Flop or Fly? London estate agents launch three properties priced over £25 million each on General Election day 2017.
    The garden of the 2,188 square foot ground and basement apartment at 20 Eaton Square, Belgravia, SW1W

    Flop or Fly? London estate agents launch three properties priced over £25 million each on General Election day 2017.
    The drawing room of the 9,989 square foot 22 The Boltons, Chelsea, SW10

  • A Question of Borwick

    A Question of Borwick

    Matthew Steeples asks Conservative candidate for Kensington Lady Borwick five questions; he put the same to the Liberal Democrats Annabel Mullin also whilst Labour’s Emma Dent Coad failed to respond

     

    In the final hours of the 2017 General Election campaign, I asked the Conservative candidate for Kensington, Lady Borwick, five questions I considered relevant to voters in one of Britain’s most wealthy constituencies. I publish below her answers in full and unedited form and beneath also include the responses of the Liberal Democrat candidate, Annabel Mullin, to the same questions.

     

    Emma Dent Coad, Labour’s candidate, was also given the opportunity to answer but failed to respond to several requests.

     

    The five questions to Lady Borwick (initially and then more generally to Annabel Mullin and Emma Dent Coad) were:

     

    • Hidden homeless: “What will you do to help the ‘hidden homeless’ of Kensington?”
    • Money park Kensington: “How will you help local businesses counter such decline if re-elected?”
    • Brexit: “How, going forward, will you credibly represent the 48% who voted to ‘remain’, as someone who went on the phones to support ‘leave’?”
    • Answering constituents: “How will you improve your pathetically low 18% response rate to constituents’ correspondence, as registered on TheyWorkForYou.com if re-elected?”
    • Ivory: “Will you continue to lobby Theresa May about ivory in spite of such being highly unpopular with constituents and others such as Deborah Meaden?”

     

    Pictured above: Annabel Mullin campaigning, Lady Borwick during the Brexit referendum and Emma Dent Coad

     

     

    Pictured above: Annabel Mullin campaigning, Lady Borwick during the Brexit referendum and Emma Dent Coad

     

     

    Victoria Borwick, Conservative Party A Question of Borwick – Matthew Steeples of The Steeple Times asks Conservative candidate for Kensington Lady Borwick five questions; he put the same to the Liberal Democrats Annabel Mullin also whilst Labour’s Emma Dent Coad failed to respond

     

    What will you do to help the ‘hidden homeless’ of Kensington?”

     

    In Parliament, the Homeless Reduction Bill was recently passed –which was almost the last bill to be “signed off” before Parliament broke for the election. This puts pressure on local councillors to provide a range of early intervention solutions.

     

    Current local services – There are a number of local churches who are working in this sector such as St Cuthbert’s (who I visited earlier this week) and our local charities.

    From my previous work at the GLA, I know that although there is a hostel place for everyone that is not enough. People need more and longer-term help which is why there are some good charities working locally, for example the Glass Door Project and Homeless Link. I have also worked with several of the veterans’ charities whose aim is not “no second night out” but “no first night out”.

     

    The situation with those that are “street homeless” – these are the people who, for a complex number of reasons, spend time living on the streets. Some do have somewhere to sleep at night, but spend the day on the streets and some live on the streets full time, including overnight.

     

    The first port of call for street homeless people is a hostel and these fall into two categories. “Direct access” and those that require a referral from an agency. These agencies provide not only shelter but some way to address the terrible loneliness, mental health and other problems that most street homeless people feel. We need to look at the provision of hostels, but also work with the organisations that provide longer term support, to help people get over their crisis and get back on their feet – and this can take months, and sometimes longer.

     

    There has to be short-term accommodation but also ways of dealing with the causes of street homelessness. There needs to be “move on” accommodation, for those that have managed to get themselves into a stable state, and where they are becoming independent, but may still need some ongoing support. I have visited services where they have a range of provision in the same location, I.E. those in immediate crisis and those that are more capable.

     

    We need to provide services to help people with drug and alcohol problems which causes so many people to become street homeless, and also with the mental health problems that afflict so many of these people. The council’s Public Health Department has made this a high priority. I particularly welcome the changes to our mental health laws that the Prime Minister has pledged to bring in. These should make a big difference for homeless people with mental health problems.

     

    Money park Kensington: “How will you help local businesses counter such decline if re-elected?”

    I have grown up in Kensington and lived here all my life, with my family.

    Supporting our small and medium sized local businesses is very important for all of us in Kensington. Local businesses are the backbone of our economy and provide employment and opportunities in our community.

    Firstly we have to stop losing small independent businesses, as you have refereed to, so that people do not lose their opportunity to be working locally and also to start business locally. RBKC has continued with our planning exemptions, otherwise across London small businesses were being turfed out of their premises. Many local restaurants have sadly closed.

     

    I have lobbied the Chancellor, and if re-elected will continue to lobby the Chancellor against the rash of additional regulations for small business – the proposed quarterly reporting, the apprenticeship levy – should be for larger firms, the pensions levy and of course the revaluation which has negatively impacted on our shops – and not on the out of town warehouses for mail order.

     

    I recently undertook a survey of many local shops and businesses, either in writing or by visiting in person. On the basis of the response, I wrote to the Treasury, as indeed did the Borough, and also raised it personally with the Chancellor to see if there is any other way of looking at the rates – so that rateable value could be examined to take into account factors such as turnover, size of premises, whether the shop is independent or a chain of premises and so on. If re-elected, I shall continue to raise these concerns with other central London MPs as they affect us all.

     

    I will continue to support local businesses by supporting any legislation in Parliament which will promote businesses and support our local economy.

     

    Buy to Leave – This is a real issue in Central London, and this is something that, as an MP, I discussed with other Central London MPs from all parties. As we are aware this is “investment purchasing” where investors buy, usually a new property, and then do not live in it, and treat it as “money in the bank” which is why they don’t want it to be lived in as they want to keep it new.

     

    When discussing this and researching what is actually happening – RBKC undertook a survey, as have Westminster Council on this topic. There is a pocket of properties where this is very prevalent, however there is not overall interest in this because it affect so very few nationally.

     

    That does not make it any less of a problem – the previous Mayor tried to address this by saying that properties have to be marketed in the UK first, but we are often used to getting a mortgage first and these overseas buyers are cash buyers so naturally they can jump in. The new Mayor is also examining what measures can be taken.

     

    There are examples in Switzerland and Australia where they have tried to tackle this issue. Buy to leave homes have a very negative effect on the community as there are less “eyes on the streets” less community activity and it is difficult for local business to survive.

    By continuing to have schools and local amenities it brings together a community and encourages homes for families.

     

    Brexit: “How, going forward, will you credibly represent the 48% who voted to ‘remain’, as someone who went on the phones to support ‘leave’?”

     

    I previously worked for Open Europe which was working with the previous administration on renegotiation, which was my preferred stance. I had hoped that the EU would and could use this time to examine its own processes and undertake reform. I realise the result of the referendum is not the outcome for which everyone might have hoped. My chief concern was accountability, and it became clear there was little that could be done to persuade the Commission towards greater transparency.

     

    As a country we voted to leave the EU. Parliament has voted on two occasions to implement the result, with cross-party support. All sides have agreed to respect the referendum and to get on with the re-negotiations. The Lib Dems may have also offered a second referendum on the result of the negotiations. Theresa May has said she will bring the final agreement to Parliament for a vote.

     

    For Kensington, if re-elected, my role will be to lobby for reciprocal rights for all our long-term residents. Over 50% of the residents in Kensington were not born here and many have made Kensington their home for many years. We should continue to make sure they are welcomed and can continue to play an active part in our community. Many are also great contributors to voluntary and charitable works.

     

    I will represent the views of Kensington in Westminster if I am re-elected; working closely with Ministers to make sure they understand the complexity of Kensington.

    The choice for everyone is: “Who should be leading the Brexit negotiations?” Which team do you want? I am supporting Theresa May and her team. I support the PMs ambition to strive for a good outcome for the country.

     

    Answering constituents: “How will you improve your pathetically low 18% response rate to constituents’ correspondence, as registered on TheyWorkForYou.com if re-elected?”

     

    I have always prioritised urgent casework when responding to the vast amount of correspondence my office receives. I receive referrals and pleas for help from individual constituents, charities, churches, the mosque and other religious groups, along with organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau and free legal advice clinics. We have helped several thousand families over my time in Parliament. These referrals, usually from someone in crisis, do not come through “They Work for You” thus they are not logged in this way.

    People tend to write to us on “They Work for You” if they are asking for our views on a particular campaign. If the campaign has nothing to do with Kensington residents, then I put my views on the website, so that people can see my opinion. However, I try not to comment on things that are not directly relevant to the majority of Kensington residents.

     

    As a team – my priority is casework and dealing directly with residents, and meeting residents each week. I try to avoid “lobbying emails”. Obviously with complex cases we need to see the residents a number of times, and help them with their various meetings with officers or officials and if appropriate I also work with their local councillors (from any party) to make sure they are not left without support.

     

    A Member of Parliament is often the last resort for people on housing, immigration and benefits. I have been able to help a great many residents since elected and I hope to continue to do this if re-elected.

     

    Ivory: “Will you continue to lobby Theresa May about ivory in spite of such being highly unpopular with constituents and others such as Deborah Meaden?”

     

    I supplied a full response to Deborah Meaden who said she was content with my response and why I am representing the antiques trade in Kensington and our great museums. She kindly offered to send my response to others who were concerned. I have offered to meet her should I get re-elected.

     

    I support the current proposals which are to make sure we enforce the ban on trading in modern ivory.

     

    No antique dealer wants to kill elephants; no antique dealer supports poaching. The only ivory that can be sold in this country is antique and carved. However, there are countries, including those in Europe who still permit the trading of tusks, although this is shortly to be outlawed – not before time.

     

    We can and should preserve works of art that are our shared cultural inheritance for future generations, while at the same time doing everything in our power to ensure that these terrible assaults on wildlife do not continue. The next generation need to be able to grow up in a world with healthy herds of elephants. However, these are not mutually exclusive positions. This is a view expressed by some of our leading museums, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum.

     

    As you will be aware many musical instruments contain ivory “tinkling the ivories – playing the piano” comes to mind as well as significant treasures in our churches. In our area we have three magnificent museums – the Natural History, V&A and Science Museums – and they all have ivory – antique and old ivory.

     

    Both elephants and our shared cultural inheritance are there for us all; we need to work together to look after both, and I have no doubt that this is possible.

     

    Annabel Mullin, Liberal Democratic Party

    A Question of Borwick – Matthew Steeples of The Steeple Times asks Conservative candidate for Kensington Lady Borwick five questions; he put the same to the Liberal Democrats Annabel Mullin also whilst Labour’s Emma Dent Coad failed to respond 

    What will you do to help the ‘hidden homeless’ of Kensington?”

     

    Rough sleepers and the homesless have had a very tough time of late. Funding has dried up, centres have closed and specialist help has become less frequent. We need to provide holistic care – that means that we must look at social care with mental health for these individuals alongside.

     

    Money park Kensington: “How will you help local businesses counter such decline if re-elected?”

     

    I would like to bring a private members’ bill to fundamentally change business rates as they are killing our local businesses.

     

    Brexit: “How, going forward, will you credibly represent the 48% who voted to ‘remain’, as someone who went on the phones to support ‘leave’?”

     

    As a passionate European and Remainer who feels we are best placed in the European Union, I will fight especially for being in the single market (not just access) and to protect the rights of all EU citizens and their freedom of movement.

     

    Answering constituents: “How will you improve your pathetically low 18% response rate to constituents’ correspondence, as registered on TheyWorkForYou.com if re-elected?”

     

    It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know people in and around Kensington over the last nearly seven weeks. It would be a privilege to serve Kensington and communicate with everyone.

     

    Ivory: “Will you continue to lobby Theresa May about ivory in spite of such being highly unpopular with constituents and others such as Deborah Meaden?”

     

    I find it incredible that China has a ban but the current MP for Kensington does not support it.

     

    Emma Dent Coad, Labour Party

    A Question of Borwick – Matthew Steeples of The Steeple Times asks Conservative candidate for Kensington Lady Borwick five questions; he put the same to the Liberal Democrats Annabel Mullin also whilst Labour’s Emma Dent Coad failed to respond
    Emma Dent Coad (pictured with Gina Miller of Best For Britain)

     

    Ms Dent Coad failed to respond to repeated requests from The Steeple Times to answer the five questions. They were put to her via email.

     

  • A House of Hide

    A House of Hide

    Grade II* listed Kent townhouse for sale for just £166 per square foot; a similarly sized property in Knightsbridge would set you back £2,000 per square foot

     

    A freehold 2,500 square foot detached 15th century timber framed house just 23 miles south of London has gone on sale for the lowly sum of £166 per square foot ($214, €191 or درهم787 per square foot).

     

    92 High Street in the market town of Edenbridge, Kent – better known locally as both ‘Tanyard House’ and ‘Leather House’ – has been Grade II* listed since 1954 and is known to have been the site of a tannery from the 1660s until the 1960s. It was originally an open hall house, includes accommodation over three floors and comes with a garden to the front and a small courtyard to the rear.

     

    Currently used as three office suites, planning permission was granted in February to convert the building into to semi-detached houses. This attracted much controversy at the time, but a buyer could, equally, look at creating a much grander single-family residence. The catch? The property is adjoined by a vast and rather ugly car park.

     

    Tanyard House will be auctioned by Savills on 19th June 2017 at the Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, W1. An estimate of just £415,000 ($536,000, €477,000 or درهم1.97 million) has been set.

     

  • Domesticity Above A Canal

    Domesticity Above A Canal

    Conversion of “one of Europe’s first purpose-built office blocks” for sale; £3.5 million Grade II* listed Georgian house in Bath literally straddles a canal

     

    Some people dream of living beside a lake or a river, but a Grade II* listed detached property recently placed on the market in Bath gives anyone with £3.5 million ($4.2 million, €4.5 million or درهم16.6 million) to spare the opportunity to literally live above a man-made waterway.

     

    Cleveland House – originally known as Canal House – stands on top of a bridge and tunnel that straddles the Kennet & Avon Canal and in spite of being built as “one of Europe’s first purpose-built office blocks” has a look that is very much “Georgian domestic”. The limestone ashlar, three-storey building was constructed to the designs of one of Bath’s greatest architects, John Pinch the Elder (1769 – 1827), between 1817 and 1820 and served as the canal’s management headquarters until 1864.

     

    Converted next to residential usage and then requisitioned for government use in 1939, the building again reverted to office usage. A property developer named Trevor Osborne then acquired it and commenced a transformation into what is described as “a truly exceptional Bath residence” in 2015.

     

    Aside from 7,218 square foot of accommodation, including 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, what makes Cleveland House truly remarkable are its entertaining spaces. The 30-foot long former company boardroom, complete with a 20-foot high newly repainted domed ceiling, is now the house’s drawing room and in addition there is a formal dining room and a library. Whilst a fully prepared cinema room and wine cellars are housed in the basement, other points of note are a large, newly built family room, a first floor roof terrace and garaging for four cars.

     

    Cleveland House is offered by Carter Jonas.

     

    Domesticity on a Canal – Grade II* listed Cleveland House, Sydney Road, Bath, BA2 6NR – For sale for £3.5 million ($4.2 million, €4.5 million or درهم16.6 million) through Carter Jonas – Formerly known as Canal House and originally offices of Kennet & Avon Canal Company.Domesticity on a Canal – Grade II* listed Cleveland House, Sydney Road, Bath, BA2 6NR – For sale for £3.5 million ($4.2 million, €4.5 million or درهم16.6 million) through Carter Jonas – Formerly known as Canal House and originally offices of Kennet & Avon Canal Company.Domesticity on a Canal – Grade II* listed Cleveland House, Sydney Road, Bath, BA2 6NR – For sale for £3.5 million ($4.2 million, €4.5 million or درهم16.6 million) through Carter Jonas – Formerly known as Canal House and originally offices of Kennet & Avon Canal Company. Domesticity on a Canal – Grade II* listed Cleveland House, Sydney Road, Bath, BA2 6NR – For sale for £3.5 million ($4.2 million, €4.5 million or درهم16.6 million) through Carter Jonas – Formerly known as Canal House and originally offices of Kennet & Avon Canal Company.Domesticity on a Canal – Grade II* listed Cleveland House, Sydney Road, Bath, BA2 6NR – For sale for £3.5 million ($4.2 million, €4.5 million or درهم16.6 million) through Carter Jonas – Formerly known as Canal House and originally offices of Kennet & Avon Canal Company. Domesticity on a Canal – Grade II* listed Cleveland House, Sydney Road, Bath, BA2 6NR – For sale for £3.5 million ($4.2 million, €4.5 million or درهم16.6 million) through Carter Jonas – Formerly known as Canal House and originally offices of Kennet & Avon Canal Company. Domesticity on a Canal – Grade II* listed Cleveland House, Sydney Road, Bath, BA2 6NR – For sale for £3.5 million ($4.2 million, €4.5 million or درهم16.6 million) through Carter Jonas – Formerly known as Canal House and originally offices of Kennet & Avon Canal Company.Domesticity on a Canal – Grade II* listed Cleveland House, Sydney Road, Bath, BA2 6NR – For sale for £3.5 million ($4.2 million, €4.5 million or درهم16.6 million) through Carter Jonas – Formerly known as Canal House and originally offices of Kennet & Avon Canal Company. Domesticity on a Canal – Grade II* listed Cleveland House, Sydney Road, Bath, BA2 6NR – For sale for £3.5 million ($4.2 million, €4.5 million or درهم16.6 million) through Carter Jonas – Formerly known as Canal House and originally offices of Kennet & Avon Canal Company.Domesticity on a Canal – Grade II* listed Cleveland House, Sydney Road, Bath, BA2 6NR – For sale for £3.5 million ($4.2 million, €4.5 million or درهم16.6 million) through Carter Jonas – Formerly known as Canal House and originally offices of Kennet & Avon Canal Company. Domesticity on a Canal – Grade II* listed Cleveland House, Sydney Road, Bath, BA2 6NR – For sale for £3.5 million ($4.2 million, €4.5 million or درهم16.6 million) through Carter Jonas – Formerly known as Canal House and originally offices of Kennet & Avon Canal Company.