LONDON — Ask real estate experts what makes a property a “must buy” beyond its own desirable qualities and they rattle off a familiar litany: handy transport links, well-run schools, parks — and shops.
All these come together in the prime sites of London, like Knightsbridge with the likes of Harrods and Harvey Nichols or Chelsea with the quirky independent stores along King’s Road.
Yet many of London’s village-like neighborhoods could at least start to match these glamorous rivals if they had similar mixes of restaurants and distinctive shopping.
And they need to catch up: In May, according to the monthly market report by the real estate company Knight Frank, prices in prime London locations were at a record high, 12.1 percent higher than their previous peak in March 2008.
Consider Brondesbury in the Willesden Green area northwest of the capital, only slightly more than six miles, or about 10 kilometers, from the City of London.
There, a mansion with seven bedrooms costs £3.2 million, or $4.9 million, while a Grade ll-listed Georgian house in Mayfair with the same number of bedrooms is on the market for £30 million.
Of course that is an unfair comparison — but the difference is compounded when you consider that Mayfair has chichi Mount Street, with its branch of Christian Louboutin and Scott’s, the famous fish restaurant, while Willesden Green offers a straggle of everything-for-a-pound shops and kebab joints.
In May, the government recognized the need to restore Britain’s high streets to their original role as the hub of the community by awarding 12 towns a share of £1.2 million.
And a retailing phenomenon has been spreading in some of these towns: the popup shop.
The idea of using empty storefronts for a few months, weeks or even just days has been around for more than a decade, with everyone from luxury brands to underfinanced entrepreneurs trying the concept. Now, however, nonprofit organizations like The Architecture Foundation, based in London, are negotiating with councils and landlords for longer leases because, they argue, a flourishing high street improves the environment and makes the area more attractive to small businesses and house buyers.
One project has been started in Willesden Green: An empty textiles workshop now is home to 13 creative enterprises selling vintage clothes, exotic soaps, organic food and advice on graphic design.
Sarah Ichioka, director of The Architecture Foundation — which has been working in the area for a year, transforming 25 other popups with new window displays and more appealing interiors — says: “We hope that some will become fully fledged businesses and compete with the big shopping centers and malls nearby and that, in turn, will help the area become more sustainable and more appealing to live in.”
What effect do they have on the property market, which, according to the Web siteHome.co.uk, shows average home prices at £642,631?
The local office of the Foxtons real estate agency says that, while it is not possible to put a price on the pop up project’s effect on residential prices, the effort has helped the area.
The story in Camden Town is similar. On one hand there are the majestic John Nash mansions that line Regents Park; on the other, a shopping street that is distinctly frayed.
The area has become one of 20 Business Improvement Districts in the British capital, established by local businesspeople.
And Simon Pitkeathley of Camden Town Unlimited, which represents those business interests, says the area now has the potential to open 20 popup shops.
“We want the butchers, the bakers, the candle stick makers and we are looking for creative start-ups,” he said. “It all adds to the footfall and is a welcome addition to business and the appeal of the area.”
Helen Santer is director of operations at Waterloo Quarter, the organization that represents the Business Improvement District in London SE1, the postal code region that includes Bankside, South Bank, Southwark and parts of Bermondsey and Vauxhall.
The area is waking up to the popup concept, she says, because “It is useful to show potential for a site and it helps to stop it looking like a deprived area.”
Giles Barrie, editor of the trade magazine Property Week, echoes the sentiment. “Landlords are beginning to realize that pop-ups can be a good thing,” he said. “They add vitality to a community and stem the sense of decay that some run-down areas have.
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