First homes revealed at Quebec Quarter as part of 10-year revamp at Canada Water
Champagne sits in a bucket, ready to be poured into designer flutes and raised to the unusually high ceiling in the show room of a two bedroom apartment.
Earlier in the week, this very room had convinced a cash buyer from Paris to part ways with around £800,000 cash for a second home.
These are the sort of scenes you’d expect to see in a luxury apartment in Westminster, kitted out by a bespoke interior designer and sold abroad by a high end developer.
In fact, the swish marketing suite has been built by a not-for-profit housing association and it’s in Canada Water, an until-now neglected piece of the riverside with a rich industrial past.
The first homes went on sale last week at Quebec Quarter, the largest private sale project ever undertaken by L&Q, which is currently involved in around 20 per cent of new homes in London.
Only 13 three bedroom apartments have been released so far, but the scheme will contribute 151 private homes to almost 2,000 that are planned by Southwark Council as part of a 10 year regeneration plan.
The old newspaper printworks that used to sit on the surrounding 46 acres will be transformed into new homes, arts venues, shops and a new site and accommodation for King’s College, University of London, nearby Surrey Quays shopping centre is also looking forward to a £34m investment and a proposal for Brunel Bridge, a Thames crossing reserved for pedestrians and cyclists, in the works, there’s a lot of potential in SE16.
The living room in the two bedroom private sale show apartment
At approximately £485,000, average house prices are currently much cheaper than neighbouring Bermondsey, which sits around the £650,000 mark, according to the Land Registry.
For investors, the gross rental yield also looks attractive at around 4.4 per cent and property prices rose by 19 per cent in 2015.
On a site to the north of the old printworks, three old warehouses have been demolished in favour of seven low-rise brick blocks that sit next to Russia Dock Woodland and Stave Hill Ecological Park. The site itself is pretty leafy, too, with 65 per cent of it dedicated to greenery.
A couple of top price penthouses, with views of Canary Wharf from their wraparound roof terraces, have already been snapped up, but first time buyers will also be able to reserve Shared Ownership apartments in a couple of weeks.
Living quarters in the one bedroom Shared Ownership show apartment
Artfully strewn with pizza boxes and local beer, 25 to 75 per cent shares in these one and two bedroom apartments will be available to those who live or work in Southwark first before moving outwards in search of buyers in neighbouring south London boroughs.
From £785,000 for three bedroom apartments. Call 0333 0033663 or visit quebecquarter.co.uk