The developer of 39 luxury central London retirement flats will open up sales to younger buyers after failing to sell any of the homes in more than two years.
Retirement housing specialist Pegasus has been marketing the Chimes development on Horseferry Road in Westminster, SW1, since July 2019, but has not received any eligible offers.
The flats, where prices started at £1.65m, sit just a stone’s throw away from the Houses of Parliament.
They all contain two bedrooms with assisted living features, and share a 24-hour concierge service, a library, residents’ lounge and spa facilities.
The developer will remove the age restrictions on the homes and make changes on the top floor of the block to create a handful of three-bedroom flats which will be marketed as family homes.
Westminster City Council gave Pegasus the green light to go ahead with the changes on Tuesday evening, after councillors voted to approve the proposal by three votes to one.
The move will come along with a £1.8m contribution to the borough’s affordable housing fund, which Pegasus will make when the first residents move in.
When councillors initially gave planning permission for the block – a redevelopment – in 2016, they included a clause in the agreement that all residents be over the age of 60.
Planning officers said: “While it is regrettable that the development will not be occupied as intended, it has been designed to aid mobility, adapt to changing health and facilitate the lifestyles of those in later life which will continue to characterise the development and benefit the future residents.”
Pegasus is part of the embattled Lifestory Group, which formed in 2019 through the merger of Pegasus and Renaissance, with housing developer Anthology.
Lifestory secured a major refinancing earlier this year from owner Oaktree Capital Management, after struggling with mounting losses in the wake of the pandemic.
According to results for the year ended 30 June 2020 (filed 21 July 2021), Lifestory made an operating loss of £56.9m for the year, almost double the loss of £33.7m a year earlier.
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