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It's no secret
that London's
property
market is out
of
control: The
city's super-
wealthy are
splashing
their cash on
levels of
luxury most
of us can only
dream of
including 30
million
Swimming pools have become a standard fixture in basements for the the uber-wealthy.
Orbital Basements
But with land a scarce commodity and restrictions limiting how high you can build, what do the ber wealthy do
when they run out of room?
Luxury basements have riled the city's property market for years now. Developers are attaching millions of
pounds worth of extra value onto already pricey property by creating underground lairs with swimming pools,
cinemas, saunas, and wine cellars.
While a single basement level is enough for some, others have multi-level basements that stretch as far as five
floors underground. These "iceberg basements" are so-called because such large portions of the house sit
underground.
We decided to take a look inside some luxury bunkers to see what all the fuss is about. All the plans we've
included in this article have either been approved or are pending approval for construction from London
councils.
This Grade II listed mansion near St. James' Park in Westminster has
had plans submitted to add an additional two storeys underground.
Properties on this street typically fetch between 5-8 million.
W estminster Council
Architecturally, London's luxury basements are spectacular. They can
double living space in a city where land is a rare and precious. This
basement project, the brainchild of Prestige Exclusive Lifestyle with
Rigby & Rigby, will transform the property.
Crayson
Many are in posh areas such as Chelsea, Mayfair, and Knightsbridge
some of the most sought-after areas in the city. This disused building in
Knightsbridge looks modest on the outside, but ...
W esminster Council
This spectacular graphic shows the developers' plans are so ambitious
it wil be unrecognisabale once they're done.
W estminster Council
Granit received their first request for a basement in 1992, when nobody
really knew how to do it. Since then, the number of requests has soared
and they now account for roughly half of all the company's private
residential projects. In the borough of Kensington and Chelsea, there
were 450 basement applications submitted to the council in 2013 alone.
Several high-profile individuals have jumped on the basement
bandwagon, including Andrew Lloyd Webber and Roman Abramovich.
Most recently, billionaire Robert Beecham of the Beechams bubble-bath
empire, got approval to bulldoze this secluded 15 million Primrose Hill
mansion, and replace it with a new one which will sit atop a
200-foot-long basement.
The basement phenomenon is unique to London and the fad for luxury
bunkers shows no sign of slowing down as space becomes increasingly
difficult to find in the capital. Over 800 basement extensions have been
carried out in Kensington in the past four years.