The former IYLO makes a valuable addition to the London skyline

London's 'skyline living' is something to which so many people aspire, but that rather few people actually achieve. With the gentrification of even the most previously unsung parts of the English capital continuing apace, even many of those from both the United Kingdom and further afield who have aspired to a London lifestyle have often been forced to look further and further out from the centre of the city - to housing developments like the one-time IYLO.

Croydon is certainly one part of London that has not always had the most alluring image. However, this image has not necessarily ever been indicative of the reality. Croydon, after all, is the part of London that gained considerable popularity as a pleasant, leafy residential suburb for the Victorian middle classes, following the arrival of the railway here earlier in the 19th century. Indeed, Croydon today retains its importance as a travel hub for the rest of the city.

Even in much more distant times than that, Croydon had its architectural delights. From the Grade I listed Whitgift Hospital almshouses and Croydon Minster to the Grade II listed West Croydon Baptist Church and the Grant's building on the High Street, this large South London town has long boasted esteemed structures. This continued into the 20th and 21st centuries with the construction of the likes of the 24-storey NLA Tower - now No. 1 Croydon - in 1970, as well as the large Centrale shopping centre, which opened in 2004.

Croydon, then, has a formidable architectural heritage, but far from a museum, it is also a living, breathing and thriving part of London, serving up plenty of educational, employment and recreational opportunities across its many schools, restaurants, bars, clubs, art galleries, leisure venues and blue chip companies. Despite all of these benefits, however, Croydon also remains a very affordable place to live compared to so much of the rest of the capital.

That is not set to remain the case for many years longer. With such ambitious developments in the pipeline as a new Westfield shopping centre that will be Europe's largest shopping mall when it opens in a few years' time, house prices here are sure to spiral, locking out those who hesitated to seize on their London property ownership dream. In short, now is the time to buy or rent in Croydon - and there can be no better accommodation to invest in than the ex-IYLO.

IYLO is the previous name of the elegant 20-storey tower now known as ISLAND. The specification of its luxury penthouses and apartments is truly impressive, encompassing everything from bathrooms with white sanitary ware throughout, to kitchen/living areas with widespread multimedia network cabling and chrome-plated taps.

These are apartments and penthouses that offer the highest standard of London living for a far-from-London-sized price tag, and with construction of the building almost complete, prospective buyers must act fast to snap up the few that remain available.