London is awash with spectacular residential properties – and with the UAE now on the UK's amber list for travel, the capital's premium property brokers are once more ready to show off their luxurious wares.
The National's London luxury property series serves to whet the appetite, and this month the focus is on an extravagant reimagining of a traditional London townhouse.
Featured property
3 Mulberry Square, Chelsea Barracks, London SW1W 8DS. Approximate sales market value: £38 million ($52.6m)
The key details
This six-floor townhouse with two basement floors and a roof terrace offers 9,947 square feet of living space. Ceiling heights of up to 3.4 metres will make claustrophobia a thing of the past.
The upper three levels of the property feature four en-suite bedrooms, including a principal bedroom with two dressing rooms, a formal reception and dining rooms. A private garden roof terrace affords far-reaching views across the capital. The London Eye and the Shard are only two of the renowned landmarks that are visible.
The lower three levels of the townhouse comprise family living space, a study, an expansive kitchen that opens on to a large private garden, a secure underground double garage and staff accommodation.
Unusually for a townhouse, there is lift access throughout, but what really separates 3 Mulberry Square from the mock-Georgian-townhouse herd is the multitude of amenities on offer. These include a gym, swimming pool, sauna, steam room and cinema room.
The property's high-specification finish includes English herringbone and marble flooring, and sub-Zero and Wolf and Gaggenau appliances in the kitchen.
What's the story?
3 Mulberry Square lies at the heart of one of London's most ambitious and expansive luxury residential developments, Chelsea Barracks. The five-hectare site includes a panoply of apartments, penthouses and houses with a full set of amenities for all residents.
As the name suggests, Chelsea Barracks was a former army barracks in the City of Westminster. Originally completed in 1862 to house two battalions, the only vestige of the complex's past life is the renovated Garrison Chapel, which has survived decades of demolition and reconstruction around it.
The renovation of Chelsea Barracks was broken down into four phases, with 3 Mulberry Square forming part of phase two. The first phase of the project included 67 apartments, 87 per cent of which have been sold. In addition to 3 Mulberry Square, the second phase of development includes 2 Whistler Square, with show houses now available for viewings for both. A restaurant is due for completion on site this year, while renovations of Garrison Chapel have been completed. A further 96 apartments are due for completion in 2023, in the final phase of the project.
All these buildings are set around seven garden squares, and come with exclusive access to The Garrison Club, which includes a spa and gym, private cinema, billiards room, residents' lounge and business suite with two boardrooms.
What the broker says
Why should someone who usually goes for an apartment consider this townhouse?
The key thing about 3 Mulberry Square is that it is a London townhouse for the 21st century.
Where London townhouses fall short in the eyes of the international community is that they are about six metres wide and often only have lifts that go up to the second floor. If somebody is disabled, then they aren't going to be a practical option. Lifts in traditional Victorian townhouses tend to be very small, too.
This wide townhouse, with its its large lift, which accesses every floor, answers all those questions.
It's also extremely difficult to to get a house in the SW1 postcode – London's most expensive – where you have the holy grail of parking, a swimming pool, gym and garden.
Why does the townhouse work for the modern businessperson?
Chelsea Barracks offers a 5,700-square-foot business suite and residents' lounge, with a billiards room attached. – the perfect form of hybrid working; an office where you live but not impinging on the privacy of your home.
Residents also get the full benefit of security and a concierge, ensuring the sort of meticulous attention to detail bound to impress potential clients.
3 Mulberry Square is on the market with Savills
