Bankside's new boom: how South Bank's indie neighbour is a favourite with Londoners working from home

Bankside, a one-and-a-half-mile stretch of the south bank of the Thames with Tate Modern dominating the skyline, is rapidly gaining tall and elegant neighbours for the gallery, turning this busy, colourful area into a residential hub.

Developers need to bear in mind the changes that Covid-19 is imposing on buyers who are now seeking homes and neighbourhoods to support their work-from-home lives.

Londoners expect flats with lots of well-designed inside and outside space, generous landscaped areas for social gatherings and crucially, communal workspace, in case they have to hunker down for weeks or months on end.

A stone’s throw from Tate Modern is newly launched Triptych Bankside, where London architects Squire & Partners are ahead of the game.

Each of the 169 homes within three wavy-fronted blocks of nine, 16, and 18 storeys has a private balcony.

When completed in 2022, the £400 million scheme will have a communal garden, on-site gym, private lounges, games room, co-working space and cinema.

There will be offices, independent cafés and shops and a cultural facility, all a 10-minute walk to the City.

Prices start at £750,000 for a studio flat, with penthouses starting at £9,715,000.

“The early interest has been great, 18 apartments sold immediately,” said Juraj Marko, managing director of developer JTRE London. “This demonstrates the appetite that buyers have for the area and a scheme that can provide great design, all in a prime location.”

Nick Pearce, MD of estate agents Circa London, shares Marko’s optimism about Bankside, as investment pours into the area.

Work has just finished at 50-storey residential tower One Blackfriars just south of Blackfriars Bridge, and work has just begun on £2.5 billion Bankside Yards, set to join Bankside and the Southbank, creating a spectacular new skyline.

This project includes a 49-storey tower with 240 homes and an office building. A row of 14 existing railway arches will be renovated with new shops and restaurants by 2022.

The second phase of developer Native Land’s project will add more homes, a hotel and new open space including a stairway to the riverfront making it possible to walk along the Thames all the way from the London Eye to Tate Modern and beyond.

“It is going to be unrecognisable,” said Pearce.

Workers in the City and around Waterloo who are keen to live nearer their offices, welcome these homes and are being joined by retirees who enjoy the bright lights, plus overseas investors buying for children studying in London.

New flats dominate, with the occasional warehouse scheme and a handful of whole houses.

Property costs an average £1,100 to £1,600 per square foot, although a new home with a river view could well top £2,000.

As well as excellent transport links from Blackfriars, Southwark and Waterloo stations, Bankside has fantastic culture. The post-war rebirth of former industrial Bankside has been very much arts-led. The modern reconstruction of the original Globe opened in 1997.

Three years later Tate Modern opened in a former power station and is now Britain’s most visited gallery or museum.

In 2004 a former confectionery plant became the hugely popular off-West End theatre, the Menier Chocolate Factory.

The Tate has been extended with a 213ft pyramid-shaped tower, fashionable bars and cafés.

Southbank Centre goes from strength to strength — and Bankside Yards will bring in the shops.

Some of the world’s top architects are involved in new landmark addresses near the river. South Quay Plaza at Canary Wharf by Foster + Partners is a 722ft tower in a cluster of new buildings offering 1,200 homes.

There’s a two-acre garden, residents’ lounge, bar and terrace, a swimming pool and gym, business lounge, screening room and private dining room.

From £899,950 for a one-bedroom flat to £2.16 million for a 64th-floor three-bedroom flat. Shared-ownership flats start at £108,750 for 25 per cent (landgah.com).

Southbank Place, by Squire & Partners and GRID Architects, is the £1 billion reboot of the Shell Centre, with 860 homes in eight buildings overlooking Jubilee Gardens.

The tallest, One Casson Square, will stand at 417ft. The site completes in 2023, with residents’ health club and pool, plus shops, cafés and restaurants ranged around new public squares.

Prices start at £3.8 million for a three-bedroom flat at One Casson Square, or £2.3 million for a two- bedroom flat at 30 Casson Square.

Wood Wharf (see residential.canarywharf.com for sales; thisisvertus.com for rentals), with architects Herzog & de Meuron and Stanton Williams behind two towers, offers 3,500 homes, with a quarter "affordable” and 1,000 for rent.

There’s two million square feet of office space plus restaurants, cafés, gardens and squares.

Each flat in 57-storey One Park Drive has a terrace and there’s a health club, pool, library and cinema.

Studios in 10 Park Drive start at £635,000, up to £2.5 million for a three-bedroom flat. One Park Drive one-bedroom flats start at £840,000 and three-bedroom flats from £3.9 million.