Meet the ultimate fixer-upper hidden away in St John’s Wood
To a certain type of buyer, there’s something irresistible about the idea of a fixer-upper. There’s a romance to the idea of taking a shabby husk – preferably one with a storied and/or industrial history – rolling up one’s sleeves and turning it into a beloved family home.
Well, prepare for some serious property pornography, because this sprawling home in Grove End Road in St John’s Wood might just be the most perfect example of a fixer-upper in the history of fixer-uppers.
This two-storey family home in the heart of St John’s Wood spans a vast 7,074 sqft, with lofty ceilings, beautiful crumbling brickwork and industrial chic steel beams exposed in every direction. All of this for just £5.75m.
When they say it’s derelict, they really mean it – the house is essentially gutted from floor to ceiling, with exposed wooden features that are a hipster’s dream, and quite possibly an architect’s nightmare.
The latter point is perhaps underscored by the fact the building has two recently lapsed planning permissions; one to refurbish the existing home, or a more recent and more extreme permission: to demolish and construct an entirely new home, or even two substantial new townhouses.
It would take a buyer with deep pockets and a will of steel to attempt to bring this decaying beauty back to life, and a total demolition and rebuild sadly seems like the more likely option.
Marc Schneiderman, director of seller Arlington Residential says: “It is rare to find over 7,000 sqft of space arranged across only two floors – typically this amount of space would be seen in houses of four or even five floors. What makes this house even more unusual is that it is set behind a private gated driveway, unseen from the road and yet only a short walk from St John’s Wood High Street.
“The buyer who takes on this project will ultimately have an enviable ‘one off property’, tailor made and designed to their own specification which is likely to be worth significantly more than their original investment.”
Prices of houses in St John’s Wood frequently exceed £1,500 per sqft, with many recent sales achieving over £2,000 per sqft, which makes the £812 per sqft asking price of this property seem like a real bargain. Sort of.