Lifestyle HIGHBURysQUaRe
knowntovisitorstoChelsea Flower Show. Most notableofthese isaMemorialGarden, where the ashes of more than 500 Arsenal supporters areburied. Thescale andshape of Highbury Stadiumhas beenlovinglyretained andthe endresultisaperfect example ofwhat canbedonewithcareand expert design, to preserveour builtheritagewhilecreating somethingnew andexciting. Londoners obviously agree because nowfewer than 10 of the 728 flats remain unsold. With a£700,000-plusprice tag, apartments
at the former homeof Arsenal don’t come cheap but apart fromthe obvious attractions of thedevelopment, youdoget plenty foryour money.LocatedoppositeArsenal tube station, Highbury Square is well connectedbythe Piccadilly line to centralLondon;onlya15 minute ride to Piccadilly Circus and11minutes to theCity. Andwhether youliveinaninward or outwardfacingapartment,the viewsare worthpayingapremiumfor. Also included are: nTwo acres of landscaped gardens on the site of the former Arsenal pitch n24-hour concierge nTerraces or balconiestomost apartments nSecure underground parking nFitnesscentrewithswimming pool (yet to be completed) Theflatsthatare stilltobesoldrange from
£775,00to£950,000 forthe lastremaining penthouseand arebeing sold with 254 year (lesssix days)
leases.Groundrentisset at £400 ayearand servicecharges areestimatedat between £2000-3,500. The development has excellent environmental credentialsand has oneofthe largest solarheating installations in
Europe.ACombined Heat andPower (CHP) systemat basement levelprovidesthe heating andhot waterfor thewhole developmentand theelectricity generatedpowersthe external lighting
andcommunalareas.Soevenifthe flats arealittlepricey,atleast thebills won’t leave residents feeling sick as a parrot. John Baldwinfrom Pembertons Property
Management is theman with daytoday responsibility formanaging Highbury Square, andhedescribes thebuilding as the“crown
RedletteRdays
Highbury. Anamethat hasfiredthe imagination of football fans since1913 when ArsenalFC– then knownasWoolwich Arsenal –moved to its newstadiuminHighbury, North London. Thesceneofsome
ofEnglishfootball’s most excitingmoments, Highbury stadium is oneofthe best-known buildings in northLondon andits iconic red-lettered frontage is familiar to fans theworld
over.Designed by renowned football
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architectArchibaldLeitch, theoriginal stadium had a single covered stand andthree open terraces. In the1930s newArt Decoeastandwest standswere built anda roof added to theNorth Bank terrace,whichwas bombed duringWorld WarTwoandonly rebuilt in the1950s. At itspeak, Highbury
Stadium hada60,000-fan capacity but thetragedies atHeysel andHilsborough in theearly 1990ssawthe advent of newregulations
and Highburywas convertedtoanall-seater stadiumreducingcapacity to just 38,419 spectators. Surrounded by housing
andwithitsEast Stand Grade ll listed,expansion wasout of thequestion andArsenalFChad little choice but to look fora newhome. In 2006 the clubmoved
toanew60,000-plus ground at Ashburton Grove-theEmirates Stadium - and Highbury was turned over to the developers.
The size and scale of the stadium has been retained
Highburysquare iswell connected by tubeto central london
jewel” of the properties he hasmanaged over a15-year
career.All developments present theirownchallenges, andthe modern high-specification designofHighburySquare certainly keeps John on his toes. “Itisawonderful development,”saysJohn
“but with adesignthatdoesrequire us to keep on top of allmaintenanceissues.With amodernbuilding thismeansmanaging anumberofspecialist firmswholookafter individual aspects of thedevelopment. WeuseDMG Delta tomaintain all the mechanicaland electrical issues, Willerbys to look after thesoftlandscaping and Acescott forthe windows. Thewindows have to be cleaned externally every threemonths, anditisaspecialist job duetoboththe height of partsofthe development, as well as the immense surface area that needs to be cleaned. Thesiteincludessomewonderful
waterfeatures,whichwereinstalled by OCMIS.” Dealing with the numerous contractors is
just half thejob forJohn, with thedemands of the residents occupying the rest of his time. “Weget between30and 40emails aday”
he says,“whichall need to be dealtwith promptly.” John andhis colleague,Louise Sterling,makesurethatthe residentsare looked after by holding Bi-weekly surgeries, as well as usingamonthly newsletter to keep leaseholders abreast of communal issues. Theinhabitants of Highbury Square are,
primarily, younger professional people. But, as you would expect, there are also a number of Arsenalsupporterswho couldnot resist the opportunitytoliveinthe iconic Highbury stadium. “One gentleman, an ArsenalSeason
Ticket Holder,discoveredthatthere wasan apartmentpositionedexactlywherehehad hadhis seat, so he bought theflat,” says John. That, in a nutshell, explains the unique
appeal of Highbury
Square.Itmay have gardensdesignedbyChristopherBradley Hole andspectaculararchitecturebyAlliesand Morrison, butthatisinsignificantcompared to the unique location….what true Gooner couldresistlivinginthe historic homeof the Arsenal?●
Highbury’s iconic facade
Autumn2011 Flat Living
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