Welcome to The Hollies, one of the most iconic buildings in Wanstead and Snaresbrook and home to 34 of the area's most impressive apartments.
Built in the 1960s, it is a classic example of modern architecture with its clean lines, Crittall windows and swathes of blue glass panels.
Stroll around the exterior or step inside one of the skilfully designed apartments, and you will see why so many people regard The Hollies as a very British take on the modern style pioneered in places such as Miami and Havana.
History
The Hollies was a luxury building from the very start: the original sales brochure boasted of the must sumptuous and modern living, complete with a lift as well as underfloor heating and the most up-to-date fixtures and fittings in every apartment. There was even a garage for every flat as well as ten communal parking bays.
The block, its garages and large gardens stand on the site of what was once a GP’s grand home and surgery, complete with stables. Building of The Hollies started around 1965 and was completed in 1967. It was regarded as so luxurious that in December 1968 it was the target of a symbolic “token squat” by members of the London Squatter Campaign. Older residents still talk of the days when our home was the haunt of pop stars, actors and fashion icons.
To read more about the history of The Hollies, check out this article on our blog, written by one of our residents.
Today
Unusually for a development of this era, the residents own the entire building and its land. Although the flats are leasehold, they all come with a share in the freehold company that owns The Hollies. This means that the only people who control the building are the people who live there.
Day-to-day running of The Hollies is done by our managing agents, but all decisions, big and small, are made by our freehold company board that is run by residents who are elected as directors.
The Hollies has suffered some years of mild neglect, but now we have an enthusiastic and proactive group of directors who, with the support of their fellow residents, are pressing ahead with a rolling programme of repairs and upgrades that will make this iconic building one of North-east London’s luxury landmarks.
Future
The Hollies is lucky to have enthusiastic and engaged residents who, through their board of directors, have launched a rolling programme of upgrades and refurbishment to bring the building back to its full glory.
Passers-by will have noticed that the gardens are blooming again with new hedges, trees and flowers. Visitors will see the new lift installed just a couple of years ago. Residents will appreciate the less obvious but vital improvements such as the electrical upgrade to the common areas, the fitting of 26 high-quality fire doors and the installation of new water tanks.
Our forthcoming projects are even more exciting. For example, the foyer and common areas will soon undergo an extensive and stylish refurbishment overseen by our in-house experts. But the most dramatic change of all will come in the next couple of years when we replace every single window – and all those blue glass panels – with modern versions that are true to the style of the building but have sound and heat insulation qualities unheard of in the days when The Hollies was originally built.
But the heart of any building is always the people who live there. In that respect, our building has one great distinction: our residents moved here because they want to live in The Hollies and nowhere else.
That makes the future of The Hollies bright and exciting.