Howick Place, an Overview

Developed primarily as a mixed use block with office, retail and apartments nestled together; 1-5 Howick Place may put off those looking for homely dwellings full of family life. However for those seeking exclusivity and privacy the award winning 1-5 Howick Place will be highly desirable.

Spacious and luxurious with a blank canvas approach to their décor, the 23 private apartments in Howick Place will appeal to creative entrepreneurs and sophisticated investors who require Central London living with space enough for guests and visiting family but also a silent retreat away from the bustle of Victoria’s office workers on the streets below.

Does this sound snobbish? Ah well, with neighbouring offices being taken up by Giorgio Armani, and the opposite building being home to Philips de Pury auctioneers, Howick Place consciously attracts residents and investors who have worked hard to attain the finer things in life and are not ashamed to enjoy them.

A History of Howick Place

Seeing the amount of development in the area one would imagine that London’s Victoria quarter has always been a destination spot attracting a well-heeled culture savvy crowd but in-fact before the 1800’s this part of London was once nothing more than marshes, slums and well, admittedly the odd mansion house. However with the event of St James Park Station opening and Victoria Street being built as a major thoroughfare leading from Knightsbridge to Westminster, Suddenly the Victoria quarter as it is known today, was regarded as an attractive investment prospect for the increasingly wealthy middle-classes with large apartments blocks for affluent bachelors’ and Ladies of means to live close to the city of London.

Howick Place is named after Charles Grey, the 2^nd Earl of Howick and England’s Prime Minister from 1830-1834. Grey is perhaps better known for two of his legacies; abolishing the slave trade and giving his name to tea, namely that of the popular English brew, Earl Grey.

The original building on this site was the head offices for the House of Fraser department store which still boasts a prominent position on Victoria Street the main thoroughfare from Knightsbridge to Westminster

Incidentally House of Fraser itself stocks a menswear brand called Howick, though not, one might add, anything to do with the Grey family.

We should also point out that the Grey family are in no way connected to the fictitious character Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Speaking of tenuous ties, Mr Grey, of the 50 shades variety is also a purely fictitious character but certainly Grey as a colour has never been sexier…

If one is however looking for louche decadence, then the Howick Place development could well fit the bill. With only 23 private apartments in the development each is exceptionally spacious and all boast large roof terraces and an attention to detail that only those with and almost fetishistic eye for perfection would require….

Living & Investing In Howick Place

Designed by multi, award-winning architects: Rolfe Judd, Howick Place has very much been a team effort and this is reflected by the developments own website where interviews with key people involved in the build evidence the collaborative approach throughout and shows an integrity that can be rare in such projects and displays genuine creativity and team work.

Beyond the immediate footprint of the building a number of creative and artistic projects have been an integral part of the development, not least the commission of a sculpture by popular artist Yinka Shonibare MBE.

Shonibare’s Wind Sculpture stands 6 metres tall in the centre of Wilcox Place, in front of 1-5 Howick Place and Phillips auction house. Shonibare as an artist is a fitting choice for this location. His work often dwelling on the themes of race, trade and colonialism could almost be a tribute to the reforms that Earl Grey pioneered by abolishing the slave trade and also emancipating Catholic worshippers. Incidentally, the spectacular Westminster Cathedral is situated just around the corner.

Such relationships hint at the type of occupiers Howick Place was designed for whether it be commercial or residential Howick Place is geared up to attracting entrepreneurial types from designers, engineers and visionaries who know that their success is down to hard-work, teamwork and a life beyond work that informs their creativity, inspires their ambition and influences their philanthropy. 1-5 Howick Place very much reflects the ideals of its namesake: Charles Grey, 2^nd Earl of Howick.

Howick Place & Beyond

Had Howick Place existed 10 years ago, anyone stepping out into Victoria’s main streets would have been greeted by nothing more than grey-suited office workers and grey-faceless government buildings. Now however London’s Victoria Quarter is an achingly fashionable stomping ground for designer shops, cool bars, gourmet restaurants and yet still amazingly practical access to all of London whether it be by train, tube, taxi, bus or Boris bike!

In fact, even the office workers in Victoria have become fashionable. With Burberry, Jimmy Choo, Tom Ford and Armani to name just a few designers who now have their UK offices in Victoria, the local business directory reads more like a fashion-week invitation list.

Conveniently located a virtual olive-stone’s throw away from Howick Place, the Goring Hotel see’s slender, sexy fashionistas downing martinis and margarita’s with hunky, high-earning asset managers. Likewise further up the road at chic, Italian restaurant Santini, journo’s from the nearby Telegraph offices note which celebs are lunching with who.

However while living in Central London can indeed be fabulous, one has to take advantage of the fact that Howick Place is mere minutes from Victoria Station meaning that weekend breaks to the rest of the UK & Europe are a must. With flights to Nice, Lisbon, Marrakech and Oslo all departing in the next hour, Europe is as commutable as all of London is from Howick Place. Alternatively, the Howick Estate in the North East of England still exists today; it’s gardens, arboretum and Earl Grey tea attracting visitors from all of the above mentioned countries and beyond.