Property PR experts help tell agent’s listing of luxurious historic apartments

AN ELEGANT Georgian New Town house has been restored to its former glory after years as a dowdy office suite.

Despite its prime city centre location the Charlotte Apartments was until recently a non-descript office, formerly used by financial giant Scottish Amicable.

Now the building, on the corner of Rose Street and Charlotte Square has been transformed into breathtaking Georgian-style apartments with some of the most sought after addresses in Scotland.

Work to create the five luxurious apartments was masterminded by Glasgow-based City Site Estates Plc, a firm which is fast being recognised for its impressive track record in restoring such properties.

Charlotte Apartments is the latest stylish addition to that portfolio and the apartments – set over five floors, including a stunning penthouse – offer incredibly high specification, combining modern sophisticated living in traditional surroundings.

Leading Edinburgh estate agents Hunters-psm are marketing the properties, with prices starting at offers over £215,000 up to offers over £325,000.

Matthew Gray, Group Property Director for Hunters-psm, said many commercial properties in Edinburgh’s New Town are now being returned to residential use – with Charlotte Apartments setting the benchmark. Learn more about such residential properties here.

He added: “Many people are delighted to see these beautiful buildings being returned to residential properties because a city centre becomes more vibrant when people actually live there.

“Edinburgh’s New Town is renowned across the world for its elegance and style, however simply transforming former offices into flats is not an immediate guarantee of success.

“Where City Site Estates make a real difference is in the quality of the conversion. The attention to detail is superb and no effort has been spared. They have pulled out all the stops to make sure the interiors are, in every way, a match for the exteriors.“

Each two bedroomed apartment enjoys westerly views towards Charlotte Square and is perfectly situated in very heart of the city centre offering instant access to most of amenities as well as being in the heart of the capital’s financial and business district.

Matthew Gray added: “The New Town is actually a small area and as Edinburgh’s population increases the demand for city centre housing has also risen.

“Meanwhile, planning restrictions and the costs involved in retaining period features, means it is becoming less and less practical for businesses to base themselves in the city centre, particularly given the attraction of purpose-built office blocks.  We are increasingly seeing commercial companies relocating to industrial parks like Edinburgh Park.

“The result is that many of these big town houses have come back on to the market and many developers have recognised the attraction of returning them to their former glories. They started life as houses meant to be lived in and despite changing times the reality is that they are still perfectly suited for city centre living.

“In many respects, this is a growth area for property developers and City Site Estates have clearly signalled their intention to be amongst the front runners.”

Each property had been designed to combine the best of both modern and classical styles and enjoy views across Charlotte Square. Entrance to the building is via a communal entrance hall with a security entry videophone. The communal stairway is in a minimalist style.

The top penthouse flat features an attractive mezzanine level adding extra luxurious living space, an open-plan designer kitchen and dining room, luxurious bathroom and two double bedrooms, one with en-suite facilities. One of the properties major attractions is that it boasts 24 hour access to a private car park and cycle bay.

The ground floor and first floor apartments also offer airy lounges, designer kitchens and bathrooms and two bright double bedrooms – while they come with private scooter or cycle bays ideal for easy city centre travelling.  The basement level apartment has its own west facing patio area with cellars.

Graeme Lumsden, Residential Sales Manager for City Site Estates Plc, said the firm was proud of the conversion and hoped to set the standard for such work.

He added: “With many companies moving out of the city into purpose built offices these properties are available and I consider a real privilege to have the opportunity to turn them back into real homes.

“There are many others which are still being used as offices or for commercial purposes, but that kind of use rarely does these buildings justice. They are beautiful buildings and can only be truly appreciated when they are used as homes as originally intended.

“We bought the building in 2002 and there was never a shred of doubt that we wanted to turn back the clock and see it restored to residential use. We have done everything we can to make sure no-one would ever be able to tell they were ever used as offices.

“It is a small development, but it is very interesting and unique. We are extremely pleased with the finished result.“

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