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Stop Press is ISBN Magazine’s guide to happenings in Hong Kong. From art to auctions and from food to fashion, to entertainment, cinema, sport, wine and design, scroll through the best of the city's dynamic cultural offerings. And if your event merits mention in our little book of lifestyle chic, write to us at stoppress@isbn-magazine.com
The New Victorientals
Thursday, December 26, 2013
What do Ian Fleming, Isabella Blow, Mary Shelley, Joseph Conrad and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart all have in common? They all lived and worked in London's Victoria district at one time or another in their careers. That may surprise some, for whom Victoria evokes images of a scruffy and sprawling railway, tube, bus and coach terminus, and back-packer central mentality; it's more a place to pass through than pass time in. But, much like 110 years ago when the partially completed railway station was destined to become a bustling hub for Continental traffic, Victoria is having another moment, care of London developer Land Securities and a new cultural interchange.
But as much as elegant living space, it's about dynamic investment potential. Prime Central London property prices are at an all-time high, having risen 60 percent since the financial crisis of March 2009. Prices for the best homes increased by 7 percent during 2013. And if Continental was the buzzword in Victoria over a century ago, today it's Oriental. Buyers from Hong Kong and China were the largest group of new-build prime London buyers in 2012-13, comprising 27 percent of the market by volume. London has accounted for 80 percent of all Chinese property investment in Europe since 2008.
New on Victoria's block this month is Nova (pictured), Land Securities' ultra-modern, cutting-edge Benson + Forsyth-designed office, residential and shopping development with luxury concierge services, business centre, private cinema, residents’ lounge and rooftop garden overlooking Buckingham Palace. The private sale of Nova’s luxury apartments starts this month in Hong Kong. Given China’s predilection for London and the capital's financial and regenerative potential, it seems a 21st-century cultural shift is unfolding. The Age of The New Victorientals is upon us.
The New Victorientals
Thursday, December 26, 2013
What do Ian Fleming, Isabella Blow, Mary Shelley, Joseph Conrad and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart all have in common? They all lived and worked in London's Victoria district at one time or another in their careers. That may surprise some, for whom Victoria evokes images of a scruffy and sprawling railway, tube, bus and coach terminus, and back-packer central mentality; it's more a place to pass through than pass time in. But, much like 110 years ago when the partially completed railway station was destined to become a bustling hub for Continental traffic, Victoria is having another moment, care of London developer Land Securities and a new cultural interchange.
But as much as elegant living space, it's about dynamic investment potential. Prime Central London property prices are at an all-time high, having risen 60 percent since the financial crisis of March 2009. Prices for the best homes increased by 7 percent during 2013. And if Continental was the buzzword in Victoria over a century ago, today it's Oriental. Buyers from Hong Kong and China were the largest group of new-build prime London buyers in 2012-13, comprising 27 percent of the market by volume. London has accounted for 80 percent of all Chinese property investment in Europe since 2008.
New on Victoria's block this month is Nova (pictured), Land Securities' ultra-modern, cutting-edge Benson + Forsyth-designed office, residential and shopping development with luxury concierge services, business centre, private cinema, residents’ lounge and rooftop garden overlooking Buckingham Palace. The private sale of Nova’s luxury apartments starts this month in Hong Kong. Given China’s predilection for London and the capital's financial and regenerative potential, it seems a 21st-century cultural shift is unfolding. The Age of The New Victorientals is upon us.
