A secure fine art warehouse in south London which has stored masterpieces by Picasso and Klimt is to be demolished and replaced with a £300 million apartment block development.
Wandsworth councillors this week gave the all-clear to plans to knock down the Christie’s Fine Art Storages Services building in Nine Elms, close to the proposed new US Embassy building and Battersea Power Station.
The auction house sold the climate- controlled warehouse — known as “The Rich Man’s Big Yellow” — last year for about £40 million.
Developers Bellway Homes plan to replace it with two brick towers of up to 19 storeys, offices and a new public park. The developers plan to build 510 flats, of which 76 will be affordable homes and 114 set aside for private rent to locals on extended tenancies of up to five years.
The application also includes a £10 million cash contribution to Wandsworth council for more affordable housing in the borough and £9 million towards the Northern line extension. Wandsworth leader Ravi Govindia said: “This is another very important piece of the Nine Elms jigsaw. Redeveloping the warehouse will provide exciting new cultural attractions and hundreds of homes including affordable properties for people who need help getting on the ladder.” He added that the £9 million contribution to bring the Tube to Battersea would also create jobs.
CFASS had a reputation among insurers as one of the world’s best warehouses for valuable art, antiques and collectibles and was the first in Britain to be granted “Exempted Status” by HM Revenue & Customs — so property could be stored there without incurring import duties and VAT.
Artworks kept there before they were sold at auction have included Pablo Picasso’s Angel Fernández de Soto and Gustav Klimt’s Frauenbildnis. Christie’s is thought to have bought the 2.7-acre site for less than £1 million in 1983.
