Home Front logoThis week I am feeling very nostalgic as I wander through Canary Wharf and recognise just how far we have come. I am privileged to have worked the canary wharf market as an Agent since the year 2000 and boy have things changed. Back in the day I remember taking viewers out and hearing comments like, “all my friends think this place is soulless” and yes admittedly back then maybe it was a little although I remember feeling fiercely protective of the area I not only work in but am also resident too. You see I have always believed in this place, to me it is one of the most exciting pockets of London Town and I have always felt extremely passionate about the place. 1999 saw the Jubilee line open, a huge step for this once desolate waste dockland. Developers suddenly opened their eyes and we saw the likes of Ballymore come in and seize this riverside opportunity with both hands. Suddenly an apartment with a river view became extremely desirable. They kicked off with their first riverside development Dundee Wharf, followed by Millennium Harbour then New Providence Wharf and Ontario Tower. Then came Pan Peninsula, at the time I was working for their selling agent and was privileged enough to attend both launches as a member of the sales team. I vividly remember the queues around the block and buyers tugging at my jacket desperately trying to reserve their chosen unit off plan before someone else did. It was an experience I have never quite forgotten and even when the crash hit, my confidence never wavered, I knew we had merely hit a bump in the road and it would come back. And here we are today, full circle, queues around the block to reserve on the fanciest new developments here in the Wharf. The infrastructure is second to none, with the Jubilee line, DLR and of course Crossrail opening in the next couple of years. Shopping Malls, Schools, Bars and restaurants we have them all to the point of most locals now never bothering to venture into town rather appreciating what we have right here on our doorstep. Weekends used to be pretty isolated around here, not anymore, drop over to the Breakfast Club in Crossrail place and witness the queues outside on a Saturday morning. So let’s hear it for the Canary Wharf appreciation society, it’s taken a while but now we are a force to be reckoned with!