GordonBrownSpentMyFuture Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 On my regular commute to work I drive past the Hemisphere development of "luxury" 1 and 2 bedroom apartments that now resides opposite the Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham. Development began, if memory serves, in 2006 and it seemed to go up extremely quickly; as many of these (BTL) developments often do/did. Driving past it looks cheap and a bit "Batman Forever" for my liking... although I dare say some will be impressed by its... umm... shape and green neon lights. I remember passing by the development when the crunch hit in 2007/08 and thinking "I wonder if that will ever get finished". Well it did, but few were quick to move in and I've driven past there in the evening around 9pm and not been surprised by the lack of lights on in windows. Either everyone is out living the dream or those suckers are empty. Three years on, the length of promotional signs that adorn the roadside stubbornly remain, somewhat embarrassingly, promising desirable on-site retail and leisure facilities. None have ever materialised. Imagine my surprise then, when I drove past this morning, to see a large new sign proudly proclaiming that a new store would be opening soon. Some trees obscured the store's name and logo and after 3 years of inactivity I can't have been the only one straining their neck to see who it was. And then I saw it... This is what Redrow say about the Hemisphere development... http://www.redrow.co.uk/developments/hemisphere/ Reasons to Buy * Birmingham’s coolest place to live * Stylish 1 and 2 bedroom apartments and Penthouses of the highest specification * Perfectly placed between Edgbaston Cricket Ground and Cannon Hill Park * Just over a mile from Birmingham city centre * Secure 24 hour concierge and underground parking And here's an example apartment... Hemisphere 1 Bed Apt - 1 bedroom home http://www.redrow.co.uk/houses/hemisphere/35827-hemisphere-1-bed-apt/ Price from £124,995 * Stylish open plan apartment * High specification kitchen * Fitted wardrobes * Parking space So you've finally got a supermarket. Congratulations. You were expecting an M&S Food Hall perhaps? Forget it. £124,995 on a poky 1 bedroom apartment - where else you going to be able to shop? Just wait for all those swan.ky young professionals to come flocking. If those "luxury" BTL apartments didn't let/sell themselves before, I'm sure they will now. Luxury apartments with an on-site Aldi. A sign of the times, methinks, and the shape of things to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fool's Gold Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 I wonder how long it will take for those green lights to either 'pop' or turn to red.... Roxanne.. you don't have to put on the red light... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R K Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Developers must have performed cartwheels when the flat screen telly was invented. I'd like to see that room with the rest of the 3piece suite in situ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybong Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 (edited) Those green neon lights are so reminiscent of some old movies from the US with the movie characters staying in cheap boarding houses and the neon advertising signs constantly flickering just outside the boarding room window and not far away the freight trains slowly trundling past . The height of "luxury" At least the curved facade isn't quite so reminiscent of the soviet style "architecture" so often used in the design of blocks of flats in the UK these days. Maybe the addition of the green neon lights are a serious attempt to depart from that featureless soviet style and be more transatlantic Edited October 26, 2010 by billybong Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wealthy Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 Starts from 125K The London equivalent starts from 400K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nohpc Posted October 26, 2010 Share Posted October 26, 2010 These places look nice if you're looking for a hotel for a city break or something but I don't understand how people can see them and think of them as a "home". I feel the same thing in leicester where semidetached houses for 150,000 line narrow streets and also very busy streets and wonder how anybody ever walked into them thinking "wow, this is my dream home, I've always wanted to live near never ending levels of noise, pollution, and scummers. Must pay lots of my hard earned cash or never get to live the dream" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonBrownSpentMyFuture Posted October 26, 2010 Author Share Posted October 26, 2010 The Redrow site is down... .... so the example flat apartment image isn't showing... but by the looks of it the living room space sofa would only have fit against the wall: you wouldn't have been able to turn it the other way... and if you did, and lay on the sofa, your feet would be hanging out the window. A slave box with an on-site Aldi. Does life get any better than this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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