Centre Point
Forty years ago for many people, this skyscraper was 'the concrete symbol of everything that is rotten about our society.' Constructed from 1963 to 1966, it was one of the first skyscrapers in London, and was built as speculative office space by property tycoon Harry Hyams, who had leased the site at £18,500 a year for 150 years. Hyams wanted to let the whole building to a single tenant, but couldn’t get any takers so it remained empty for nearly a decade after it was completed. Hyams didn’t care; property prices were rising and he could afford to keep it empty and wait for his single tenant.
The building has a distinctive concrete pattern making it an instantly recognisable London landmark. It was constructed using prefabricated precast-concrete, H-shaped units lifted into position by an internally sited crane designed to rise in height with the building. The units were bolted to each other and to the concrete floor to become the load-bearing façade of the building. Loads were also designed to be carried by two pairs of precast-concrete columns in the centre of the building.
For those first ten years not only was the building empty, but the promised transport interchange and highways improvements were never delivered, and the pedestrian subway beneath the building became murky and filthy, and attracted homeless people, junkies and anti-social behaviour. It was seeing this vast tower standing empty for so long while so many people were homeless which led some people to suggest that the building 'came to embody the greed of the UK property industry'.
On January 18th 1974, a hundred homeless protesters managed to briefly occupy Centre Point, a protest that went on to inspire the name for a new homeless charity, Centrepoint.
Commercial tenants were eventually found, including the Confederation of British Industry, but Centre Point never achieved its full potential as a London icon – partly because that area around the base of the tower which became a place to avoid unless you had reason to be going inside.
But that is all in the past and now Centre Point is advertised as ‘one of the great works of modern architecture’, ‘a truly iconic landmark‘, and Hyams now described as ‘renowned’ rather than ‘notorious’; and the building a ‘national treasure’ rather than a ‘white elephant’. Perhaps that would always have been the case had it not stood empty for so long. Since 1995 it has been a Grade II listed building, and in 2015 it was converted from office space to luxury flats with the service ethos of a luxury hotel. The 82 apartments over 33 floors will enjoy unparalleled views across London. . The tower will open out to a new public square, lined with high-end retailers and restaurants, whilst the new Crossrail connection at Tottenham Court Rd will enable travel to Heathrow in less than 30 minutes.
The tower now comprises 16 one-bedroom, 37 two-bedroom, 26 three-bedroom, two four-bedroom and one five-bedroom apartments. If you would like to take advantage of the situation and stunning views, a one-bedroom flat will currently set you back £1,825,000, a two-bedroom flat £3,665,000, and a three-bedroom up to £7,225,000. I don’t think any of the bigger ones are currently available, but three years ago the owners advertised that they were looking to sell the five-bedroom apartment for up to £50m. It is thought that the majority of the new apartments have been bought by Middle East and Asian investors. But don’t let that put you off……
Centre Point
Forty years ago for many people, this skyscraper was 'the concrete symbol of everything that is rotten about our society.' Constructed from 1963 to 1966, it was one of the first skyscrapers in London, and was built as speculative office space by property tycoon Harry Hyams, who had leased the site at £18,500 a year for 150 years. Hyams wanted to let the whole building to a single tenant, but couldn’t get any takers so it remained empty for nearly a decade after it was completed. Hyams didn’t care; property prices were rising and he could afford to keep it empty and wait for his single tenant.
The building has a distinctive concrete pattern making it an instantly recognisable London landmark. It was constructed using prefabricated precast-concrete, H-shaped units lifted into position by an internally sited crane designed to rise in height with the building. The units were bolted to each other and to the concrete floor to become the load-bearing façade of the building. Loads were also designed to be carried by two pairs of precast-concrete columns in the centre of the building.
For those first ten years not only was the building empty, but the promised transport interchange and highways improvements were never delivered, and the pedestrian subway beneath the building became murky and filthy, and attracted homeless people, junkies and anti-social behaviour. It was seeing this vast tower standing empty for so long while so many people were homeless which led some people to suggest that the building 'came to embody the greed of the UK property industry'.
On January 18th 1974, a hundred homeless protesters managed to briefly occupy Centre Point, a protest that went on to inspire the name for a new homeless charity, Centrepoint.
Commercial tenants were eventually found, including the Confederation of British Industry, but Centre Point never achieved its full potential as a London icon – partly because that area around the base of the tower which became a place to avoid unless you had reason to be going inside.
But that is all in the past and now Centre Point is advertised as ‘one of the great works of modern architecture’, ‘a truly iconic landmark‘, and Hyams now described as ‘renowned’ rather than ‘notorious’; and the building a ‘national treasure’ rather than a ‘white elephant’. Perhaps that would always have been the case had it not stood empty for so long. Since 1995 it has been a Grade II listed building, and in 2015 it was converted from office space to luxury flats with the service ethos of a luxury hotel. The 82 apartments over 33 floors will enjoy unparalleled views across London. . The tower will open out to a new public square, lined with high-end retailers and restaurants, whilst the new Crossrail connection at Tottenham Court Rd will enable travel to Heathrow in less than 30 minutes.
The tower now comprises 16 one-bedroom, 37 two-bedroom, 26 three-bedroom, two four-bedroom and one five-bedroom apartments. If you would like to take advantage of the situation and stunning views, a one-bedroom flat will currently set you back £1,825,000, a two-bedroom flat £3,665,000, and a three-bedroom up to £7,225,000. I don’t think any of the bigger ones are currently available, but three years ago the owners advertised that they were looking to sell the five-bedroom apartment for up to £50m. It is thought that the majority of the new apartments have been bought by Middle East and Asian investors. But don’t let that put you off……