Harry Handelsman: The Chiltern Firehouse Developer Sets Out To Make Stratford Sexy
The CEO of Manhattan Loft Corporation, Harry Handelsman is the man who renovated Sir George Gilbert Scott’s St Pancras Chambers into a 244-room luxury hotel and 67 of London’s most unique dwellings. The budget for the iconic London project? A cool £200m. He also teamed up hotel magnate André Balazs to develop Chiltern Firehouse, a favourite of A- listers including David Cameron, Kate Moss, David Beckham, Simon Cowell, Linsday Lohan and Bradley Cooper to name a few.
Now he’s taken up the monumental task of making Stratford sexy by building a £250m 42- storey luxury residential tower planned for next to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. On a grey London afternoon, Something Curated went to Handelsman’s smart Marylebone HQ to talk about all things London and property. Dressed in a crisp black shirt and trousers, the loft maker talked about his lofty ambitions to make buildings that are dotting London’s sublimeskyline:
Q. How did the son of a Polish financier who’s studied in Germany, Paris and Canada, end up in London?
HH: Ah! Where do I begin? Well, I’ve always loved cities and buildings and I particularly love London. When I came to London in the early eighties, I was financially backing some young entrepreneurs and I did that for a while. Then in 1992, I started spending a lot more time in London and became very familiar to the city. At the time, I happened to see a redundant building in Clerkenwell that I really liked. It was the height of recession back then but I saw a lot of potential in the idea of loft living. I thought it was the perfect solution to put to use those old disused London buildings that no one liked. This gave a new opportunity to purchasers to re-define how they live, how many rooms they want to have, the size of the room etc. I then decided to convert a building on Summer Street, Clerkenwell, on which I spent £435,000. I must add, is still very beautiful. After all those years into loft development, it was natural to set up Manhattan Loft Corporation. Loft living in London then was considered just some space above a home. So I thought wouldn’t it be great to offer loft living to London and started regenerating areas that were perhaps ignored by mainstream developers. That’s how I’ve basically lived my career- identifying building that other developers wouldn’t perhaps put in the kind of effort I would put in. If you look at all my buildings, it’s taken a lot of efforts to make them look good. That’s what I’ve been doing for the last 22 years.
Q. How did St Pancras hotel come about?
HH: St Pancras came about when I was invited by the consortium to just develop the top two floors. They brought me in to see if the existing tiny rooms could be turned into something useful. But I felt that having even a small participation in an iconic, beautiful London building would be a privilege. Also I love a challenge where buildings, that aren’t necessarily considered the ideal place to live in, can be turned into beautiful places of living. And I guess experience gave me some skill into how to deal with a building like that. So I started with the top two floors but ended up doing the whole building. If someone would have told me, “Harry, do you want to build 67 apartments and 145 rooms in that kind of a building?” – I would have said, “No, you’re speaking to the wrong developer”. Over time I became more and more committed to the building and I’m delighted that as a result London’s got one of its most amazing buildings back.
Q. What were the most exciting and challenging bits to redevelop the building?
HH: The most challenging was that the cost price nearly doubled. The most exciting bit was the architecture, that over time, one began to appreciate. I loved the details of the building and it’s a joy to give back to London a building that has a great history behind it yet is very modern. Frankly, I’m really proud of the building.
Q. How did the Chiltern Firehouse come about?
HH: The Chiltern Firehouse was recommended to me by a friend of mine who is an art dealer. She knew that the building was up for sale. There was a bit of a talk about another hotel operator probably taking a look at it. When I saw it I thought to myself, “what a gem, what an exciting location.” However, I did notice that although Marylebone High Street is abuzz but the rest of the Marylebone is relatively sleepy. I just thought that with a lot of care and effort, we really could create something amazing not only for Marylebone but for London. I had been in conversation about another location with André Balazs, I said “why don’t we do it together”.
Q. How was it working with Andre Balazs?
HH: I think both of us really appreciate quality, so it’s a good relationship.
Q. What criteria do you have for choosing projects?
HH: The general rule of the company is that we only take up projects in which we think we can add value. We ensure we offer commitment and the skillset to make the project a success. By virtue of doing that, we have been very selective in choosing projects. We haven’t gone out and bought whatever we saw because it’s an easy way to make money. We’ve never gone to the Far East on a marketing blitz like many other developers have. I want people to have a much better understanding of the building than just having an exhibition of space where someone from Far East just comes and snaps up one of your buildings. I want an informed and intelligent purchaser.
Q. Which exciting buildings are you working on?
HH: Currently I’m working on one of the most challenging projects ever called Manhattan Loft Gardens in Stratford. Believe it or not, Stratford is going to become one of the most exciting areas of London soon. I think we are onto a winner and the development we’re working on will definitely redefine the way people live in high-rises. I think we are definitely creating something very different and exciting.
Q. Really? Can Stratford be sexy?
HH: I’ve always believed in going to peripheries of London to build projects so I’m used to scepticism when I start and enthusiasm when I end. So there’s both doubt and a lot interest in the building but I am sure that it’s going to be one of London’s most iconic buildings and residential towers in Europe. Ofcourse the Olympics in 2012 played a crucial role in setting up infrastructure in the area – they have been a great catalyst.
Q. What are your ambitions as a developer?
HH: The beauty of London is that you have a certain amount of great buildings here. I think the one ambition I have for London is that residential developers should take great care in what they’re doing and not take the easy option of selling overseas. I want them to really commit to the development albeit make as much money as they can. They need to ensure that what they make has longevity; they shouldn’t make building to make a quick buck. I think to do that to London is quite risky.
Q. What makes you better than other developers?
HH: I wouldn’t say I’m better, but I am different. I’ve been very committed. What we do is a work of love and that’s what I want to continue to do.
Q. What is a true loft?
HH: A true loft is an endeavour of an individual that creates a space that someone can call their own and love every bit of it.
Q. What’s the most important room in a property?
HH: The place where you spend most time in.
Q. How are London’s buildings compared to other cities?
HH: If it’s scoring cities from one to 10 – then London’s at 9 and the second-best city is at 7.
Q. If you had a chance to tell David Cameron one thing to help your business, what would it be?
HH: I would tell him don’t do anything to help my business, do something to help the country.
Q. Where do you live in London and why do you choose to live there?
HH: I live in a place called Hyde Park Gardens which is in Bayswater. It’s my absolutely favourite part of London.
Q. What’s your favourite hotel/bar/restaurant?
HH: At the moment, I’m partial to Chiltern Firehouse.
Q. Is there any other area in the world, apart from London, that you’d like to live in?
HH: I love visiting other countries but at the moment, my commitment is to London. I love London.
Q. Who do you think are the best restaurant and hotel operators in London?
HH: From small to large operators, there’s so much of variety in London. London has everything in London.
Q. Where do you like to holiday?
HH: In the winter I like to ski, in the summer I like to go to water bodies. Thank you so much for your time Harry! Here’s hoping we see many more iconic buildings from you.
Manhattan Loft Gardens Office