Press Release: Making the Unloved Loved
London: DEC 2017
Chartered Surveyor, Simeon Anderson of Clifton Securities and fashion designer and business owner Sophie Anderson are a married couple embarking on an ambitious plan to develop a 10,000 sq ft former aircraft factory in Cricklewood into a new home with workspace. Although Simeon has various commercial real estate projects in planning nationwide, this will be Simeon’s second development project in North West London.
The first is Opal Mews, which was the conversion of a former office into a gated community with 5 contemporary houses on the borders of Queens Park and Kilburn.
Opal Mews
Opal Mews was nominated for a Civic Trust Award and mixes sublime Knightsbridge finishes with the honest aesthetic of the previous industrial building. The new project is located in Cricklewood within the ward of Mapesbury and comprises an enormous derelict former garage, which will be transformed into living and working space.
Simeon commented. “I have a unhealthy obsession with regenerating these secret pockets of London into well designed communities that we can be proud of and believe that the desire for an interesting space is now becoming just as important as the location it occupies.
The idea with Cricklewood is to create a community that wants to live and work in the same building but with a low’ish entry price per sq ft we are lucky enough to be able to afford to design and build inspiring environments with generous proportions that might typically cost between £2-5m in a Notting Hill Gate or Islington postcode.
I think Dollis Hill (which is our nearest tube station) looks to be the most mispriced area in north West London, and the price per sq ft literally halves as soon as one leaves Willesden Green and Queens Park.
I love the granular feel of the Kilburn and Cricklewood type neighbourhoods. For me this is the London that is characterised by a strong sense of community, green open spaces and a range of independent retailers where one can find a shop to have their watch battery changed or take their shoes to a cobbler.
I feel very strongly that we owe it to the next generation to resist London being diluted into a faceless mecca of luxury glass flats for overseas buyers.”