Mayfair 'mini White House' mansion on sale for £2.5m

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Hannah Al-Othman13 June 2016

A London mansion dubbed the "mini White House" has gone on sale for £2.5m.

The building, said to be the 'best protected home in London,' sits inside the US Embassy complex in Mayfair, which is protected by a fortress-style security cordon.

The property at 4 Blackburne’s Mews dates back to 1732, and is located inside a private gated mews complex directly adjacent to the American Embassy and within its protective perimeter.

The Mews runs across the back of the American Embassy, whose front façade overlooks Grosvenor Square.

Anyone wishing to access the building currently has to swipe an identity card, and pass through patrolling US marines, 24 hour British police presence, checkpoints, anti-tank blocks and CCTV security.

However, the cordon is due to end next year, when the US embassy relocates south of the river to Nine Elms, and the Grade II listed building will be transformed into a 5* hotel and luxury resort.

The new luxury complex will offer 137 bedrooms and suites, ballroom, health spa, five restaurants and bars and six retail boutiques, with new public entrances fronting onto Grosvenor Square and Blackburne’s Mews.

Meanwhile, the Little White House will be available to buy as a private home, at a cost of £2,500,000.

The property got its nickname due to its white façade, grand 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue style entrance hall and sweeping staircase, and its proximity to and long-standing links with the adjacent American Embassy.

Blackburne’s Mews was first incorporated into the Embassy’s protective perimeter after 9/11, and, in a UK-first, every resident was asked to carry an identity card and every visitor to the mews was required to explain themselves.

Although some residents of the Mews welcomed the cost-free security and police protection, others are said to be pleased to see the cordon coming to an end.

Peter Wetherell, Chief Executive of agent Wetherell said: “The Little White House in Blackburne’s Mews provides the adroit buyer with an outstanding and unique long term investment and lifestyle opportunity.

"The transformed Embassy building will become London’s next Claridges or Connaught Hotel with the purchaser having the benefit of living right on the doorstep.

"The resort’s restaurants, bars, health spa and boutiques will be one of the ‘must visit’ destinations in Mayfair, and the urban renewal programme has the potential to give huge uplift to property values in the local area.”

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