It is probably the most expensive student flat in the world. An 18-year-old student from China has become one of the first residents to move into Centre Point, the 1960s brutalist office tower that has undergone a multimillion-pound conversion into one of the world’s most luxurious apartment buildings.
The student, who will begin her studies at UCL in September, has been handed the keys to a two-bedroom flat with panoramic views from the bedroom – and even the shower – stretching from the Royal Albert Hall to Wembley Stadium. The 117 sq metre apartment, designed by Conrad and Partners, set her parents back just under £5m.
While the student’s apartment is undeniably luxurious, it is positively bijou compared to the £55m penthouse at the top of the block. That two-storey apartment features five ensuite bathrooms and a wraparound terrace with a vista across the whole of London taking in St Paul’s Cathedral, Tower Bridge, the Houses of Parliament and beyond to Surrey Hills on a good day.
There are no affordable flats included in the tower, which was designed by Richard Seiffert. The cheapest 70-sq-metre, one-bed flat in the 82-apartment tower is on the market for just over £1.8m.
Instead, the developer built 13 affordable socially rented flats in a separate low-rise tower, which has already been dubbed Centre Point’s “poor house” in reference to the 2014 scandal, which revealed that residents of affordable units in several luxury developments were forced to use different entrances to the wealthy private residents.
Under planning rules the development should have included 41 affordable flats, but the developer instead handed Camden Council £6m towards the creation of a new square behind the tower and public transport improvements.
The affordable flats make up just 13.5% of the total development, which is far below the mayor of London’s target for all large new builds to include 35% affordable housing. There are 5,500 people on Camden council’s housing waiting list.
Camden councillor Danny Beales said the council sought to “maximise the delivery of genuinely affordable housing through the planning process and has adopted some of the most stringent policies in the country”.
“We are, however, required by national law, in making planning decisions, to take account of other material considerations and that includes the viability of schemes,” Beales, Camden’s cabinet member for investing in communities, said. “Where applications are submitted to us with a below-policy affordable housing requirement, the viability is robustly and independently tested.
Centre Point’s developer, Almacantar, which is part-owned by Italy’s billionaire Agnelli family, said it was “extremely proud of this [the affordable housing] part of the development – using many of the same materials as we use in the tower”.
Rough sleepers once congregated in the space beneath the tower, which had its lobby above the ground when it was an office block and head office of the Confederation of British Industry. That space is now a lobby and concierge area complete with bowler-hat wearing doormen. Homelessness charity Centrepoint is named after the tower.
Kathrin Hersel, the building’s property director, said she was at first surprised that a student would be living in the building but then realised “there is a lot of money coming from Asia and they [the parents] want to make sure their children are close to their studies”. She said the parents were attracted to the building because of its location “in the very heart of London” and the high-level security including 24-hour concierge, keycard entry and security cameras in every lobby.
The communal facilities are also slightly better than the average hall of residence. The residents have access to a 30-metre swimming pool that stretches the length of the building and offers views of Oxford Street, as well as a gym, sauna, spa and private cinema. The tenants of the affordable flats do not have access to any facilities.
If the student gets a bit peckish in the evening and doesn’t want to cook she will be able to order from the restaurants on the ground including a new “concept restaurant” from the creators of Sushisamba.
Giving the Guardian a tour of the building this week, Daniel Ritterband, Almacantar’s communications director, joked that he was considering entering the building for “the best student accommodation awards”.
Hersel said she was confident the duplex penthouse would “sell itself” despite a £55m asking price. “There are plenty of people in the world who could afford it,” she said. “There is nothing else like this, with such history, location and views.”
She added that two potential buyers had already been on tours of the penthouse, which will not be completed until September, despite the company making no effort to market it.
The rooftop terrace, which was previously the popular Paramount bar, will feature lit-up replicas of the building’s letters.
None of the apartments come with free parking, but 17 spots are available in the basement for an additional £250,000 each.
Hersel said she hoped to exploit the building’s connection to fashion and the arts to attract buyers from across the world. The company is in talks with the British Fashion Council about hosting London Fashion Week events at the tower, and Vogue about using the penthouse for a fashion shoot.
Discussions are also believed to be under way with the director and producers of the 25th James Bond film about including the building in the film, which will be released next year. Suggested scenarios are understood to include having Bond land on the roof via parachute or helicopter.
Just over half the building’s 82 apartments have so far been sold and 10 owners have moved in. The first full-time residents were two City lawyers who were so keen to own a slice of the 1966 tower that they approached Hersel to be put on the waiting list before planning permission was granted. “They just really love this building, and wanted to live here so much,” Hersel said.