The first New York inspired loft-style apartments in a once down at heel district of south east London better known as the cheapest square on the Monopoly board have gone on sale as part of a £730 million regeneration.
One bed apartments starting from £440,000 and two beds from £650,000 have been sold at prices up to £900 per sq ft at THE BeCa tower in the Ruby Triangle scheme being developed by Avanton on Old Kent Road.
So far more than 20 apartments have been snapped up off plan to British buyers and the developers are now marketing the project to investors in Hong Kong, where seven units were sold to a single investor last week, and next weekend in Shanghai.
The 18 storey tower on a 1.6 acre site has 262 homes with 170 for sale and 40% designated affordable, mostly for social rent.
The developers say the red-brick architecture is inspired by The Sterling Mason building in the Tribeca district of Lower Manhattan in New York, a former coffee warehouse built in 1905 that has been restored as a luxury residential scheme by architect Morris Adjimi.
Every home for sale will have a private balcony as well as access to three landscaped rooftop gardens. There is also a co-working space, games room and E-Bikes for residents with designated parking.
The Old Kent Road area is at the start of a huge £10 billion regeneration that is being compared to the transformation of Nine Elms near Vauxhall over the past decade. Around 20,000 new homes are planned alongside retail, office and leisure space and public landscaping. Many of the area’s low-rise retail and warehouses are being replaced with new towers.
The first residents are due to move in late 2024, with site completion scheduled for for early 2025.
In total the Ruby Triangle scheme will provide more than 1,400 homes on a 5-acre site, alongside 150,000 sq ft of commercial space, with a combined gross development value of £730 million.
The residential towers, between 17 to 48 storeys in height, are designed around a central park and complete with sports hall, gymnasium, retail units and workshops.
David Ronson, sales and marketing director of Avanton said: “With the scale of consented developments for Old Kent Road, including 8,000 new homes in the first phase, buyers can be confident that this area is undergoing a huge transformation into a new hub for South London. For THE BeCa we have drawn inspiration from Manhattan’s iconic TriBeCa neighbourhood and loft-style living.”
According to Knight Frank, homes sold on the Old Kent Road have increased in value by 80.5% from £334 per sq ft in 2012 to £602 in 2022. This is the seventh fastest rise on the Monopoly board, behind only Bond Street, Mayfair, Park Lane, Regent Street, Piccadilly, Fleet Street. Old Kent Road is the equal cheapest property on the classic Monopoly board, costing, with Whitechapel. just £60.
Sophie Davies, Associate in the City & East New Homes team at Knight Frank, said: “Exciting times lie ahead for the Old Kent Road a key thoroughfare steeped in age and history which even predates the City of London itself but now finds itself at the epicentre of one of Zone 2’s largest and most ambitious regeneration masterplans. A decade from now, the community will look entirely different thanks to the £10 billion in funding with THE BeCa being the first major development scheme to be brought to the market in the area.”
