When the developer Harry Handelsman got off the tube for the first time at Stratford, the home of The London 2012 Olympic Games– he was surprised by the quick 20-minute journey from his office in central London. It was 2009, and the area was “a bit of a tumbleweed patch: distressed and depopulated.” according to THE Sunday hours.
Handelsman saw the potential and decided to invest in the neighborhood by developing the Manhattan Loft Gardens skyscraper, a stone’s throw from Stratford International Station and its high-speed rail links. He tapped Burj Khalifa architect SOM for the project.
“I like to be in the frame at the beginning of things, when you can still feel a little courage,” Handelsman says. The 74-year-old developer gained fame in the early 1990s, when he transformed a derelict Clerkenwell building into New York-style lofts. At the time, Clerkenwell was not known as a desirable residential area; it has since become a lively neighborhood with lively bars, restaurants and expensive homes.
Later, Handelsman worked on the conversion of the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel and partnered with Andre Balazs to create Chiltern Fire Stationa luxury hotel and restaurant popular with celebrities.
Its Manhattan Loft Gardens dual-use tower opened in 2019 and has 145 rooms. Hotel in Stratford, with 248 residential apartments. Handelsman moved into the penthouse on the 40th floor.
Taran Wilkhu/Sotheby’s International Realty
Five years later he listed it at £17.5 million ($22 million) with Becky Fatemi, executive director of UK Sotheby’s International Realty. A buyer would get a total of 4,615 square feet of space over two floors, comprising three bedrooms, four bathrooms and floor-to-ceiling windows offering stunning views of the London skyline.
The asking price makes it the most expensive listing in Stratford, according to Fatemi. Stratford, traditionally considered a more affordable area, is located six miles northeast of central London, and development has been commonplace in recent years. The average price of an apartment is £416,484, or £738 per square foot, according to Rightmove data.
The 2012 Olympic Games revived demand. Westfield Group built The largest urban shopping center in Europe at the time in time for Danny Boyle’s opening ceremonies. The stadium that hosted them is now home to West Ham football club. Organizations such as the Victoria & Albert Museum East And University of the Arts London have since opened up shop in Stratford. What was once part of The poorest neighborhood in London has become trendy, but it is outside central London, where prices per square foot average £1,428, according to analysis by Coutts & Co.
Fatemi says it is unfair to compare the listing’s high price, at £3,792 per square foot, with other housing in Stratford.
“If you want a big space with a view, you’re pretty limited by the number of options you have in London,” she says. “You move this flat 15 minutes out of town, you need £10 million more in some buildings. I think we won’t know what its value is until we get the offers in – so let’s test it, you know, to see where it goes.
Fatemi says the buyer will likely be someone used to living in high-rises – perhaps Asian or Middle Eastern – and who wants lots of open space for entertaining.
Handelsman says he used the house for large parties at which the head of Allegra, the hotel’s restaurant, cooked. He enjoyed showing his guests spectacular views, including London landmarks such as St. Paul’s and the skyscrapers of Canary Wharf financial district and the City of London.
“It’s the best view of London for me,” he says. “It gives you a real sense of belonging to the city.” Through these windows he observed the evolution of the British capital.
The penthouse is a partial duplex. The entrance features an iron spiral staircase which leads to the main open-plan living space. The American architect Alex Gorlin carried out the interior design.
Taran Wilkhu/Sotheby’s International Realty
“I wanted it to be minimalist, to really reflect the exterior,” says Handelsman, an aesthetic that carries throughout the apartment.
“We have these columns everywhere and I didn’t know what to do with them,” says Handelsman. “The architect suggested mirrors, to make the space all about reflection, and I think it’s quite beautiful.”
The kitchen features marble counters and backsplash, a restaurant-style gas oven, and a separate wine refrigerator. A discreet butler’s kitchen connected to the main kitchen contains additional ovens and sinks and has an entrance for household staff. Handelsman says he will be happy to sell furniture such as the 12-seat dining table near the kitchen as part of a deal.
Taran Wilkhu/Sotheby’s International Realty
Beyond the kitchen and living room is the master suite, flooded with natural light and containing built-in shelving and a large wardrobe. The bathroom has a double-head steam shower, marble bathtub and sinks overlooking London. The views rival those of London’s tallest building, the Shard, which looms large.
Two additional bedrooms, each with generous storage space, complete the top floor, along with three further bathrooms. Although there is no private outdoor space, buyers can access gardens on other levels of the tower, in addition to services such as a concierge service, cleaning service and a shared gym with Technogym equipment. Although the building does not have a swimming pool, Handelsman notes that the building, now public, London Aquatics Center designed by Zaha Hadid (used in the Olympics) is just a five-minute walk away.
Taran Wilkhu/Sotheby’s International Realty
Handelsman says he feels it’s time to move on. He compares Stratford’s transition to when it developed Southbank Shoreside Lofts in the 90s, where he also moved into the penthouse. “After a while the whole neighborhood gentrified and I decided to sell up and move to Hyde Park,” he says. His main residence is currently in Bayswater.
“I loved living here, but I’m the type of person to leave once the pioneering phase is over,” he says. “Range Rovers are coming now, instead of bicycles.”
