neighbouring areas
Postcodes
| SW1 | SW15 | SW20 | SW8 |
| SW10 | SW16 | SW3 | SW9 |
| SW11 | SW17 | SW4 | TW10 |
| SW12 | SW18 | SW5 | TW9 |
| SW13 | SW19 | SW6 | |
| SW14 | SW2 | SW7 |
What does Knightsbridge mean to you? Harrods? Harvey Nicks? Christmas shopping? Or, perhaps, somewhere which has the finest, most upmarket new developments, where you can live in luxury in one of the best locations in town?
Recently, it has certainly been the latter which is bringing the area to the notice of not only UK property purchasers, but international ones too. People might think that Knightsbridge is synonymous with shopping, but it is also home to a number of exceptionally highly specified developments which high net worth purchasers with homes in Manhattan and Monaco would be pleased to add to their collection.
"10 to 15 years ago you wouldn't have put Knightsbridge on the top of the list as a prime residential location" says Ed Lewis of FPDSavills, who is marketing The Knightsbridge, the smartest kid on the block, with service to match. 26 staff trained by Hyatt International will be in situ to look after the residents of any of the 203 apartments - whether they want flowers in their room before they jet in from the Bahamas, tickets to the Shanghai Grand Prix or a chef to prepare a dinner party for twelve.
"It was primarily a shopping/commercial destination. Now, residential property has taken over and exceeds everything else" he says. At The Knightsbridge, which comprises two new buildings of glass and terracotta opposite Hyde Park, there are spacious hallways, fabulous kitchens with six ring hobs and brushed aluminium cupboard doors, solid oak floors, wiring for all the toys, air conditioning and under floor heating in the bathrooms.
"Knightsbridge is seeing this sudden splurge of development because so many 1960's and 1970's commercial buildings have become vacant. And as the market has steadily improved over the last few years, it is now financially viable for these to be developed for the residential market" says Charlie Willis of Strutt & Parker.
All this high calibre residential development should help to buoy up prices of period properties up for re-sale, especially around Trevor Square. Here the Grade II listed former Harrods Depository building has been converted by Crown Dilmun into 39 large flats and four houses and has transformed the location. And the developer has also had to re-instate the railings around the square.
"There were huge lorries coming and going at all times of the night, which was a nightmare" from Carol Seymour-Newton of the Knightsbridge Association. "The development must improve prices, if not desirability, of the houses at that end of the square".
However, she reckons that the amount of development is a bit of a two edged sword. "With everyone being entitled to residents parking, it will put quite a pressure on parking places in the area, but it must be good news for the retailers. We have been pleased to see a lot of the 1960's buildings go, although I'm not sure the new buildings are as exciting as they could be".
Other developments in the pipeline include the site behind The Knightsbridge on the corner of Lancelot Place where 70 apartments will be built, and the 1950's Bowater House which towers over the road into Hyde Park. This is up for planning permission and it is thought will probably be turned into residential apartments.
On top of this, the Cadogan Estate is selling off £25,425 million of freehold property. Most of this is up for refurbishment and in some of the most desirable streets in the area.
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