Gizmo changed Shari Gill’s life, and living at Goodluck Hope changed Gizmo’s life.
Shari, from London, started fostering dogs from Eastern Europe during quarantine, where she lived with her family in Germany and animal shelters were overcrowded.
While she was studying, she worked part-time at a dog nursery in East London, so she had plenty of experience looking after other people’s pets. “Then I got Gizmo and I was hooked,” he says.
“He was really traumatized but very attached to me. “Even my dad said, ‘Oh my God, you can’t give that dog away.'”
When Shari returned to London, she had Gizmo with her. “He was a very anxious dog, so I knew I had to find something that would work for him.”
Shari previously rented in Brick Lane with her best friend, but London’s rental market is known to be hostile to pet owners. When her cousins moved to Goodluck Hope in 2021, she assumed a project in the regeneration zone would be a little “too corporate” for her liking. “Then I went to see them many times and then I realized it was really nice.”
Located on the Leamouth Peninsula, across the River Thames from Greenwich, Goodluck Hope is an 841-home development built by developer Ballymore on unloved industrial land. The project has won numerous awards, including Best Major Development in the Evening Standard’s New Homes Award 2023.
Shari was lucky enough to inherit some money to invest in an apartment, and Goodluck Hope was – more importantly – pet friendly. In April 2022, they moved into a one-bedroom apartment on the third floor of Prinsep House.
“It’s been great for Gizmo because it’s so quiet where we live now,” he says. “Before, he was so afraid of traffic that he would only pee his pants because he was so nervous. “I feel like he’s changed a lot for the better.”
Besides Gizmo’s all-important endorsement, Shari is enjoying the social atmosphere in her new district. “I was worried about moving because I had a great community before. “But I met wonderful people here,” he says. “I see one of the girls who lives at Goodluck Hope almost every day, we always cook dinner for each other.”
Shari, who moved from a shared house to a single bed, was worried she might feel lonely. But between regularly hosting old friends and making lots of new friends, she thinks she fits right in at Goodluck Hope.
“Thanks to my dog, I have met many dog owners and some of them have become very close friends. “The apartments are pet-friendly so there are lots of dogs here too.”
A group chat for residents also came in handy when launching Tailwaggers East, the dog grooming business Shari co-founded, in October 2023.
Tailwaggers East comprises a unit on London City Island, a five-minute walk from his flat, and his neighbors stepped in when they kitted out the space. “People here are very helpful,” he says. “I needed a heat gun and quickly found someone who gave me it.”
Leamouth Peninsula is well connected with the new pedestrian and cycle bridge connecting to Canning Town Station, something Shari appreciates. “I was living in Hackney before Brick Lane and it was difficult with Overground constantly being postponed,” he says. “Now I’m next to a subway station that’s very good with the Jubilee Line and the Elizabeth Line.”
But Shari and Gizmo find that they rarely have to go far to find entertainment. “You have a gym and a pool, which is a really nice way to socialize,” he says. Goodluck uses Hope as a sky lounge, called the Lantern Room, and a cinema space, both of which Shari rents out to host friends for dinners and gatherings.
“It’s too expensive to buy London [a home in] so some of my friends moved away,” says Shari. “But when they come to London for the weekend or for the night, they always have somewhere to stay with me.”
When they’re not walking the riverside paths, Gizmo is welcome at all of Shari’s favorite spots. Layers cafe and bakery, which opened below Prinsep House earlier this year, is dog-friendly. Across the bridge in Canning Town are The Lockdown Room and Nebula; both are bars that welcome people and their dogs.
Being close to her cousins, who now have babies, has reinforced Shari’s desire to put down roots in the city. His father is Indian, and after growing up in a “very white” part of Germany, the capital’s diversity is a big draw. “That’s one of the great things about London,” he says. “I feel much more comfortable living here, I don’t think I want to live anywhere else. ”
Shari decorated her apartment with pieces painted by her mother, an artist, as well as artwork depicting her South Asian roots that she acquired while traveling. When they don’t have guests, they sit back and enjoy the view with Gizmo.
“There is water on the left and right of my balcony,” he says. “I even saw a seal the other day.”
There are currently 100 homes available at Goodluck Hope, with prices starting from £425,000 for a suite and £485,000 for a one-bed house. entries for Evening Standard New Homes Awards 2024 It’s now open.