It’s a kind of magic
212 other architects in a competition that specified the building “should be dignified and indicate its purpose”, rather than boast “elaborate decoration and detail which is not required”.
After a £30million rebuild it will have one, two, three-bedroom apartments and studio flats in the town hall grounds, while the hotel and arts centre will be in the original building.
MOST of the apartments will have balconies, terraces or small gardens, plus floor-to-ceiling windows in the open-plan living area, a designer kitchen and en suite bathroom for the master bedroom. Details that reflect the town hall’s wood panelling and flooring will be part of their design, with art deco touches in the bathroom.
Prices start from £499,950 for a onebedroom apartment (020 3960 5888; hornsey-townhall.co.uk) and visitors to the square outside will have cafes and restaurants to enjoy plus there will be a market day for local traders. Over in north west London, the former Acton Town Hall is being converted into 58 apartments within the Grade II listed building, with 13 new-build apartments in an extension behind it.
The town hall was built in 1910, then expanded to include an assembly room and concert hall in 1939, with developers One Housing Group now taking care to preserve its historic features in the conversion.
Help To Buy will be available for all the apartments, which run from studio flats to four bedrooms and have an estimated starting price of around £400,000 (0344 800 8043; site-sales.co.uk).
Many of them retain original features such as fire places, panelled walls, high ceilings and cornices, with the original council chamber converted into an extraspecial apartment.
Murray Smith, managing director of SiteSales, says: “We have already seen a great interest in The Old Town Hall development, not only for its location but also for offering the very best of old-style grandeur combined with modern-day living.”