Why the finished IYLO West Croydon will be a boon to London commuters

The world's great cities are lands of abundant opportunity, and nowhere is such opportunity

more abundant than in London, the hugely cosmopolitan and bustling metropolis that not only

excels, but more than excels in every field from the arts and commerce to tourism and

healthcare. Every year, thousands of people make the capital their home, and with that influx,

comes demand for only the highest quality - but also affordable - living quarters.

One project that long promised to provide such living accommodation, offering opulent and

exciting London skyline living for a price increasingly hard to come by in the sought-after capital,

was IYLO West Croydon. Central to its appeal would be the transport links of Croydon, a

formidable - if unsung - area of the city in its own right.

From the fast trains to central London taking barely 13-15 minutes, to the London Tramlink light

rail system and the many buses serving West Croydon bus station, Croydon certainly offers all of

the connections that the time-pressed London commuter needs to get to where they need to go.

However, it wasn't always so sure that even such urgently needed penthouse and apartment

accommodation as that offered by IYLO West Croydon would come to fruition.

The project once attracted headlines for all of the wrong reasons. For all of the building's

impressive specification, encompassing a sleek glass frontage and an elliptical plan, with two

equal halves 'sliding' past each other, it all seemed that it would count for nothing when it

emerged in 2009 that the project's original funding source had entered administration. While

building work recommenced in late 2010, yet more anguish was caused by the construction firm

itself being placed into administration the following summer.

Finally, in 2013, the project had the new ownership and funding assurances necessary for

construction to begin once more. It is estimated that all parts of the building will be ready for

living in by 2015, and when that happens, discerning residents will delight in the close vicinity of

the one-time IYLO West Croydon - now renamed ISLAND - to those all-important London

transport links. Such connections are far from the only reason to enquire about the 20-storey

tower's elegant penthouses and apartments, but nonetheless make all the difference to many of

those wanting to make the most of London life.