On any given day, Soho Square is bursting with life. It is the beating heart of one of London‘s most visited neighbourhoods. Not just thanks to the green space and planting that makes up the central garden, but also to the people that populate it. They flock to the area to visit the seemingly endless local restaurants, shops, bars and theatres. Much like the rest of Soho, residential properties are few and far between, making this five-storey house which has recently hit the market something of a rarity.

The area has been highly coveted since it was originally built in around 1670. Historically at the centre of London’s creative quarter, its role has changed little in the centuries since. Though shops and offices have taken over many of the residential buildings, their red-bricked facades remain largely unchanged, thanks to their Grade II listed status.

This house is currently a commercial space, with each of its large rooms overlooking the square dedicated to offices. It arrives on the market with planning permission to reinstate the spaces in their original iteration. Plans imagined by London-based architects Rodić Davidson suggest a sensitive restoration of the property: the finished house will have all of its original 17th-century features, including plasterwork and panelling as well as a new staircase and balustrade. The extension at the back of the building will be reworked too.

The five floors span from the lower ground to the soon-to-be private roof terrace. At the bottom of the house, plans suggest two double bedrooms (one with an en-suite), a utility room, a downstairs loo, storage room and a plant room. Large windows throughout the house, at the front and the back, flood each of the spaces with light.