The brand-new Duke of York's

Chelsea Barracks is another London landmark set for transformation. Lakes, courtyards, open spaces, flats, townhouses - and somewhere to park the Porsche, of course

If you aspire to a Porsche, Aston Martin or Ferrari Testarossa, you may not be aiming high enough. Soon, where your car hangs its hat may be more telling than its brand.

If you aspire to a Porsche, Aston Martin or Ferrari Testarossa, you may not be aiming high enough. Soon, where your car hangs its hat may be more telling than its brand.

"We may eventually have two tiers of housing: those with, and those without, parking," says John Hunter, who has recently given up the parking frustrations of Chelsea and upped sticks to Berkshire.

But Mr Hunter, a property developer, is leaving behind a legacy of improved parking in one of two major developments that are topping and tailing the King's Road.

Hunter's Northacre and European Land are developing the former King's College site on the western end of the busy thoroughfare, where the lamp and antique shops hang out. Near Sloane Square, the Ministry of Defence has sold the Duke of York's Headquarters back to its original owners, Cadogan Estates, who will bring the restricted site into public use.

The 7.5 acre King's site, large enough to yield nearly 300 residential units including 16 townhouses, is becoming an enclosed complex with landscaped gardens, courtyards, a lake and trees.

"There really is nothing else in central London to compare it with, and in London the only home with comparable parkland is Buckingham Palace," says Dominic Pasqua of Hamptons International.

"King's will help smarten up the SW10 section of Chelsea and will raise property values in the entire area," says Lulu Egerton of Lane Fox. "Its presence might even expedite the new Chelsea-Hackney underground line, which has been talked about for many years."

Meanwhile, at the Duke of York's site the iron railings have been replaced by wooden boards, and when they come down this section of the King's Road opposite Peter Jones will have shops, restaurants and much-needed open space.

Only half of the 11-acre site will be redeveloped and only 26 residential units will be created, which, says Stuart Corbyn of Cadogan Estates, will be for "rentals only".

This low number of new flats will nonetheless have an impact: "Most affected will be landlords who don't update their properties regularly enough," says Ms Egerton.

In between these two projects is Taylor Woodrow's Seventy Park Walk, which is similar to King's in having a landscaped courtyard. But this development of flats, a 2,000sq ft penthouse and mews houses, is on a much smaller scale.

The Low-Down

Transport

Numerous bus lines link King's Road with Piccadilly and Oxford Street and serve Sloane Square, South Kensington, Victoria and Fulham Broadway Underground stations.

Prices

Prices at King's range from £410,000 to more than £2m for flats. More than half have been sold or reserved. Service charges range from £1,800 to nearly £10,000 per year. Prices at Seventy Park Walk (above) start at £440,000 for flats, £775,000 for mews houses and £1.85m for the penthouse. Russell Simpson has a three-bed period cottage on Godfrey Street, guide price £875,000. Lane Fox has various period houses at prices up to well over £1m. A three-bed early Victorian house with roof terrace on St Luke's Street is selling for £1.25m.

Can't go, won't go

The MOD has the option to stay on part of the Duke of York's site beyond 2003. Turk's Row end of the site currently houses the Territorial Army.

The road of the King

The monarch who created King's Road is Charles II, who founded the Royal Hospital, now the home of the Chelsea Pensioners. The hospital, which is adjacent to Duke of York's, was designed by Christopher Wren in 1682 with minor alterations by Robert Adam.

Park at a price

King's is providing secure underground parking. A space costs £30,000 for a 999 year lease, plus an estimated £715 annual service charge. A parking space at 70 Park Walk costs £35,000.

New tracks

The Chelsea-Hackney Linewould use existing and new track and run between Wimbledon and Epping via Chelsea, Victoria, King's Cross and Dalston. But in May the Association of Train Operating Companions, London Transport and Railtrack said if the [London] Mayor decides to give priority to CrossRail and decides it would be too disruptive to construct both at the same time, the Chelsea-Hackney line could not open for about 15 years.

Letting go

The Cadogan Estate is the principal freeholder of most of Chelsea and has a property portfolio valued at nearly £1bn at the end of 1998.

Contacts

King's, 020-7376 7000; Lane Fox 020-7225 3866; Hampton's International, 020-7835 1444; Russell Simpson, 020-7225 0277; Seventy Park Walk, 020-7801 0200, info:twcd@tayprop.co.uk