Mike Stiff is an architect with a passion for industrial design. His London home in Kew is in a factory that once made Christmas decorations, the London architectural practice he co-founded, Stiff + Trevillion, occupies part of a converted wallpaper factory in W9 and around 80 per cent of his professional work has been focused on repurposing industrial and commercial buildings into homes or offices.
Industrial space and how to adapt it for modern day use, is, he says, very much in his DNA.
Stiff was so impressed that despite not planning to buy a property abroad, he quickly decided to make an offer and in 2024, bought a two-bedroom apartment.
Savills
“Manifattura Tabacchi is a proper mixed-use development, a mini Kings Cross,” he says.
“Polimoda, an acclaimed fashion school, is an anchor tenant with its young international students bringing vitality, energy and life to the site and providing a real sense of campus and community in the development which really appealed to me.
“As well as the homes, there are good and well used offices, boutiques, shops and restaurants and cafes, all carefully curated by the developers.”
The 24-acre site has 16 buildings, two of the largest occupied by Polimoda.
.png?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
Savills
The homes for sale are in four buildings, three low-level original factory buildings dating to the 1930s and one, Futura, the largest with 98 apartments over nine floors, currently under construction.
Stiff’s home is in the two-storey building where once cigars were packaged, a classic loft conversion that features high ceilings, original timber casement windows and a balcony.
“The building I am in has a nice mix of Tuscan and contemporary design and a good balance between industrial and new insertions,” he says.
“The Tuscan feel comes through the terracotta tiled roof and chestnut wood beams and the contemporary through the use of steel, concrete and glass.
.png?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
Savills
“The design that Manifattura Tabacchi has done is high quality. I wouldn’t have done much differently. I like that I live in a building with heritage that feels part of the fabric of the city.”
Tobacco production at Manifattura Tabacchi stopped in 2001 and for nearly two decades, the site was unused.
In 2019 it reopened with the guiding principle of being a “space for creativity”, something that is very much in evidence through the site’s carefully chosen retailers, pop-up shops and regular cultural events held in cavernous industrial-chic halls.
Among the commercial spaces there are several bakeries – including one that turns into a club after office hours –restaurants, coffee shops, a Pilates studio, interior designers, barbers, bike retailers and a modern private medical centre.
.jpeg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
Savills
A supermarket is opening this summer and there are longer term plans for a four-star hotel and by 2028, direct connection to central Florence by a 7-minute tram ride.
“The biggest selling point of Manifattura Tabacchi compared with owning in the Centro Storico (historic centre) is the space and peace on offer here and the light that these large windows offer,” says Mateusz Guzikowski, new developments sales consultant from Savills.
“The site is largely pedestrianised with extensive underground parking yet it’s only a 15-minute level cycle ride to the Duomo. To be so close yet away from the hustle and bustle of tourists makes a wonderful location for a pied-a-terre or a full time home.”
Manifattura Tabacchi has no rental restrictions, ideal for owners who choose to rent when they are not there.
.jpeg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
Savills
That compares well with the Centro Storico where short-term rentals, anything between one day and one month, require an existing rental licence, something authorities no longer issue.
Mike Stiff currently travels to Florence at least once a month and has never rented his apartment, viewing it very much as his home. Now in late 60s with future plans to pull back a little from his business, he looks forward to spending extended periods there.
“When I bought this place it was an opportunity to start a new chapter in my life,” he says. “ And I think it is going to be a very happy chapter.”
.jpeg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
Savills
Property in Florence: the lowdown
Savills figures show that while transaction numbers are slowing, prime property values and prime rents in Florence are on the rise, up 8 per cent and 3 per cent respectively at the end of 2025 compared with the previous year.
“Florence is one of the easiest markets in Italy to sell if the price is right. Homes under €500,000 in the city centre sell quickly, mostly to local buyers,” says Luca Cerutti from Savills Florence and Tuscany.
“Two weeks ago, we had a two-bedroom third floor apartment 15 minutes from the city centre, south of the river, that sold for €450,000 in under one week.
Via della Scala, Florence €840,000 through Savills
Savills
“The same apartment in the Centro Storico itself, with a rental licence, would probably have been double.”
Savills are selling a handsomely renovated two-bedroom, two bathroom apartment in an historic palace close to the Arno in the Centro Storico.