St Pauls House

I had nearly bought something there in 2008 prior to the financial crash, but (somewhat fortuitously) the timing didn’t work.

The Jewellery Quarter is a fascinating, beautiful place. A living industrial landscape full of character and intrigue and once on the UK application for the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The overdue ascendence of Birmingham over the years (certainly since I had left for University in the 90’s) has seen a knock on in terms of developments in the Jewellery Quarter. Given it’s conservation area status any developments were going to be small and somewhat bespoke and unique. Within the Jewellery Quarter, St Pauls Square is it’s elegant heart and the only Georgian Square in Birmingham. A simply stunning location!

The agents I spoke to were happy to show ‘their own book’ but nothing appealed. I just knew that I would know when I saw it, but had real difficulty articulating what it was that I was searching for!

One agent then shared some hand sketches of a tiny development but would not share the location. The plans ‘spoke to me’ and I managed to work out (through an extensive walking tour) which property it was.

The planning had only just been granted and the agent barely appointed, but I managed to get hold of the apartment that most ‘spoke to me’ off plan. Something of a blank canvas (I didn’t know the developer very well).

Given how early I was in the process, I was able to change the layout, flooring, insert glazed doors, put in my own lighting, fixed wardrobes etc…