Embassy Gardens

Embassy Gardens is a residential and business development built by Ballymore Group in the Nine Elms regeneration zone in London, England, surrounding the United States Embassy building opened in 2017. It features the tranparent Sky Pool for swimming, which is suspended 115 feet in the air between the development's prominent buildings.[1]

A block of flats in Embassy Gardens

On 16 February 2012, Wandsworth Council approved Ballymore Group's plans for the 15-acre development. Embassy Gardens was intended to provide "up to 1,982 new homes alongside shops, cafes, bars, restaurants, business space, a 100 bed hotel, a health centre, children's playgrounds and sports pitches".[2]

In 2014, it was reported that Ballymore had engaged Lazard and CBRE Group to raise about €2.5bn to fund the Embassy Gardens development.[3]

In June 2017, 25 apartments were released for sale by EcoWorld Ballymore with prices for the homes that overlook a sky pool starting at £1million.[4][5] The outdoor swimming pool is suspended 10 storeys high and acts as a bridge between two apartment blocks. It enables residents to swim between two buildings with views of the London Eye and Westminster Palace.[6]

In March 2021, Embassy Gardens residents were reported by the Financial Times as feeling "trapped" in their apartments, with one resident reporting that the service charge had increased 58% in five years to an annual charge of just over £6,500. This was an increase of between 10% and 15% per annum, well above the UK's inflation rate of 2.9% per annum during that period.[7]

Sky Pool
Main article: Sky Pool, London
Embassy Gardens Phase 2 with the Sky Pool

The "Sky Pool" is a swimming pool that acts as a 14-metre (46 ft) bridge between two high-rise buildings at Embassy Gardens. It is 35 metres (115 ft) above the ground, and it was the first "floating pool" of its kind. It is for residents, and is not open to the general public.[8][9][10]

References
  1. Cherner, Jessica (30 April 2021). "Suspended 115 Feet in the Air, the World's First Floating Pool Is Unveiled in London". Architectural Digest. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  2. "Embassy Gardens plans approved". UK: Wandsworth Council. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  3. "Nick Webb: Mulryan is close to wiping slate clean - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  4. Enfield, Laura (2 June 2017). "Homes with a 25m Sky Pool at Embassy Gardens are set to go on sale". thewharf. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  5. "Yoga rooms, sky pools and film clubs... how property developers are chasing the millionaire millennials". The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  6. "A world first: Battersea flats launch overlooking world's first glass-bottomed 'sky pool'". Homes and Property. 30 May 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  7. "'We are trapped': residents hit with soaring charges at luxury London homes". FinancialTimes. 13 March 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  8. "Sky Pool Embassy Gardens London". CNN.
  9. "Londoners Cool Off In Sky Pool Suspended 115ft In The Air". The Guardian.
  10. "The 'World's First' Floating Pool Is Open – But There's A Catch". HuffPost. Amy Packham. Retrieved 1 June 2021.

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