'Placemaking' through travel retail continues to be London's major success story
Travel retail continues to be the major success story within the current retail backdrop. Across Central London we have seen the transformation of once neglected areas centred around a major transport hub, given a new lease of life as a result of well-planned and considered development.
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Such opportunities are historically relatively infrequent, take years to deliver and can be incredibly complex and expensive. However, development around major transport hubs provide Landlords with the ability to unlock, develop and realise value.
Central London has seen unprecedented regeneration on this basis, with Kings Cross, London Bridge and Victoria all seeing huge recent change -and it doesn’t stop there.
Euston, Waterloo and Paddington are next on the list. With the impending launch of the Elizabeth Line, other travel interchanges such as Tottenham Court Road and Farringdon have also seen significant investment.
Indeed transport hubs and stations have become destinations in their own right providing a diverse offering and catering to what most people are after in such locations – convenience.
Indeed “placemaking” is a major buzz word at the moment and if approached and delivered correctly can totally transform a location. It requires a holistic and complimentary approach and can benefit not only the immediate locality but help support major regeneration in an area. Major transport hubs can be just that - destinations in their own right.
Take Paddington Square for example - a scheme by Great Western Developments Ltd and one on which Knight Frank are the retained advisor.
With a critical mass of retail space (c. 75,000 sq ft) beneath c. 360,000 sq ft of Grade A office stock and directly outside of what is predicted to become one of London's busiest transport hubs (c. 113.5 million entries/exits once Crossrail opens according to CACI), the area will be totally transformed.
"'Placemaking' is a major buzz word at the moment and if approached and delivered correctly can totally transform a location."
A new public square and nearly 1.5 acres of public realm improvement works will create a space that will encourage people to dwell, re-energise the surroundings and put Paddington back on the map.
In addition, the creation of a new Bakerloo Line station will also enhance passenger experience and with a considered and dynamic tenant mix strategy, Paddington Square will become a destination and hub in its own right, catering for the varied demographic be it commuter, office worker, tourist or resident across four floors of retail, F&B, leisure and experiential space.
It will also have a signature rooftop restaurant /bar and terrace providing panoramic and uninterrupted views across London. With delivery set for late 2021, Paddington is next in line to benefit from the continued investment and successful transformation of Central London transport hubs.
Knight Frank Retail provides expertise and market reach which aligns with requirements of retail developers, investors and occupiers.