Living la vie en rose at a luxury location in heart of Paris

Buyers of refurbished period apartments close to the Arc de Triomphe will get red carpet treatment, reports Lara Marlowein Paris

BARGAIN hunters and do-it-yourselfers, 81 Avenue Victor Hugo in the 16th district is not for you. The target market for what Le Parisien newspaper describes as "the most luxurious building in Paris" are "Goldman Sachs bankers, lawyers . . . aspiring, cash-rich, time-poor individuals", says Ross Mansoori-Dara, co-founding director of City Lofts plc.

Luxury starts with the location, 600 metres from the Arc de Triomphe, next to the elegant Place Victor Hugo and its modern fountain. The area is one of fashionable boutiques, the Lenôtre pastry shop, Godiva chocolates and the art deco Maison Prunier restaurant. All apartments have balconies.

You can see the Arc de Triomphe from the Avenue Victor Hugo side; the top of the Eiffel Tower from flats overlooking the 400sq m (4,305sq ft) landscaped courtyard. If the "micro-gym" in the basement doesn't satisfy your sports needs, it's only a short jog to the Bois de Boulogne, Paris's equivalent of the Phoenix Park.

Luxury is also in the graceful beige limestone facade, with its wrought-iron balconies and sculpted belle époque motifs. There's a liveried doorman in front of the huge glass and wrought-iron gate. Inside, the entry hall is some five metres high, with four classical columns leading to an exquisite spiral staircase with stained glass windows, polished brass and wrought-iron banisters and red carpet on the marble steps.

Under City Loft's exclusive licensing agreement with Conran and Partners, Terence Conran's designer group is refurbishing all of the flats to high specifications. All apartments are delivered with gas-fired central heating and air conditioning, built-in Bose stereo equipment and wireless high speed internet throughout.

All windows are double-glazed. The creaky turn of the last century parquet floors have been replaced with acoustic insulation and chocolate brown walnut flooring. The doors are armoured and the building has a video security system.

Kitchens boast state-of-the-art German AEG appliances, the bathrooms Villeroy and Boch fixtures and Italian taps. You can watch the flat plasma television screen from your Jacuzzi bath tub. And there are plenty of bespoke walnut wardrobes throughout. "We work on the assumption that the sort of people we get will have a lot of clothes, shoes and bags," says Mansoori-Dara.

In the living and diningrooms, designers have maintained the high ceilings, mouldings, marble fireplaces and mirrors characteristic of Parisian Haussmannian buildings. But the kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms are contemporary, with features such as pebble-encrusted walls in some bathrooms. You can have your choice of four finishings, all in shades of beige, white, grey, brown and black.

Vivacity, the property management subsidiary of City Lofts, can provide a mortgage at competitive rates, furnish your flat or manage it as a rental. They are also in charge of maintaining the building and providing services.

Inhabiting 81 Avenue Victor Hugo is meant to be like living in a five-star hotel. It is a concept already seen in New York, London and Monaco, but hitherto not in Paris. A valet will take your car from the courtyard to the parking lot beneath the Place Victor Hugo, and bring it back when summoned. A round-the-clock concierge will buy theatre tickets, book restaurants and plane tickets, arrange to have your laundry and housework done, and stock the fridge if you've been away. The only thing missing is room service.

All this luxury has a price: between €12,000 and €16,000 per sq m (€1,114-€1,486 per sq ft), twice the average in Paris. A 21sq m (226sq ft) studio costs €330,000; a four-bedroom flat, €3.5 million. Building charges run to €70 per sq m (€7.50 per sq ft) per year. Some flats will be sold to investors for rental; a 200sq m (2,152sq ft) apartment rents for €8,000 a month.

City Lofts was founded in Britain 10 years ago. "We saw an opening for residential developments in provincial cities in the UK," says Mansoori-Dara. "City centres are turning into places of leisure and commerce rather than offices. The same thing is happening in France."

After developing properties in Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Brighton, Liverpool and Birmingham, the group made their first foray onto the Continent when they bought the 106-year-old building in the Avenue Victor Hugo. The first eight of 30 apartments went on sale in May, and were all bought in less than a month. The second tranche will go on sale in September, the last at the end of 2007.

www.citylofts.co.uk; Knight Frank and Philippe Perello, 00331 43 16 88 88