Retail Repurposing - Time to Diversify CoStar Column
Empty High Streets Could be Revived With Affordable Homes
The post-lockdown recovery of the UK’s bricks and mortar retail sector was short-lived. According to data from the British Retail Consortium and ShopperTrak, footfall on UK high streets in September was 33% down on the same period in 2019.
To arrest this decline, we must look for innovative ways to revitalise the high street. With the pandemic having forced consumers further online, filling void space with affordable homes would create new revenue streams for struggling landlords and put customers, quite literally, on the doorstep, breathing new life into our ailing high streets. Such a move would also help address the UK’s widening housing gap. In February, the BBC’s Housing Briefing estimated that supply trailed demand by 1.2 million homes, and the major disruption to the construction sector caused by the coronavirus pandemic has only increased this deficit. Adapting existing buildings in our urban centres could provide thousands of new homes, while also revitalising local communities.
astudio’s Ebury Bridge Estate regeneration project, for instance, will double the number of homes of the existing estate in Westminster, providing vital housing stock in the spacestrapped area. In turn, this will drive greater footfall for surrounding establishments and boost the local economy.
We must not lose sight of other targets, however. As the UK strives to meet its 2050 deadline for net-zero emissions target, retrofitting existing structures could significantly lower our built environment’s carbon footprint. astudio’s Elizabeth House research and development retrofit project, for example, lifted the buildings EPC energy rating from F to B, while saving considerable energy and embodied carbon by avoiding a demolition and rebuild.
In order to unlock the full potential of adaptive reuse we must pursue a multifaceted strategy that employs multiple innovative means of construction. Embracing modular construction could reduce construction time by 75% while keeping energy usage to a minimum.
Projects such as astudio’s Desborough Road, which will provide 58 modular units for homeless families in High Wycombe, are already showing what can be achieved with a modular approach. By harnessing the latest innovations, we can simultaneously revitalise the high street and reduce the housing gap, all while limiting our impact on the environment.
Richard Hyams, astudio
Article: https://www.costar.com/article/1459927390/costar-column-retail-repurposing---time-to-diversify