HomeSight ’s Post

A great result on 38-40 George Street in central Oxford, where consent was granted at Planning Committee on Tuesday evening for the redevelopment of the existing Odeon Cinema for a 145-key apart-hotel, and community space. The design by Studio Moren, which references Oxford's collegiate architecture as well as George Street's late 19th- and early 20th-century development as one of the city's main commercial streets, has the key benefit of providing an active frontage to the northern side of George Street. I provided heritage consultancy services on this project from bid stage through the pre-application process and for the application submission. The built heritage issues were numerous, including: the loss of the existing cinema building (a non-designated heritage asset); the effect on the character and appearance of Oxford's rightly-celebrated Central Conservation Area; the setting of numerous listed buildings, including TG Jackson's Old Boys' High School; and the effect on Oxford's famed 'Dreaming Spires' skyline as a result of the additional height. This positive result is a testament to the hard work put into the design process throughout the pre-application phase and the skill and dedication of the whole project team. #oxford #georgestreet #aparthotel #heritageconsultancy #builtheritage #marick #studiomoren #townscape #dreamingspires #planningsuccess #staycity

The View You Didn’t Think You Could Get - strategic bts thinking This film isn’t just about showcasing a space—it’s about capturing how that space makes people feel. It’s not just a building with a view; it’s a place designed for those who didn’t expect to find the view. The story isn’t in the skyline itself; it’s in the potential that view unlocks for the people who experience it. Four Success Principles for Marketing Places & Spaces 1. Understand Your Audience A great story starts with who you’re speaking to. What do they value? What excites them? Craft your narrative around their needs and aspirations, not just the product. 2. Create Emotional Resonance Marketing isn’t just about features—it’s about feelings. The most effective films don’t just show a place; they evoke an emotional response. 3. Make it About Their Future It’s not enough to show where a space is now; show where it can take someone. Help your audience envision themselves in the space, living their best version of the future. 4. Weave in Subtlety Don’t sell; tell a story. Let the space naturally integrate into the narrative. When you market for place and space, you’re not just selling a property—you’re telling a story that allows people to see themselves in that space, imagining the possibilities

Swansea's Laserzone is re-locating to an old supermarket. Currently based at the old Castle Cinema, the laser tag attraction, which has operated in the city for 32 years, will instead now move to the former Iceland unit on St David’s Place. Swansea Council has granted the business a temporary lease for the unit, pending the regeneration of the overall former St David’s Shopping Centre site in the longer-term. https://lnkd.in/e_jvC4_q #swansea #citycentre

Harlem's resurgence as a vibrant, culturally rich neighborhood in #Manhattan has attracted many residents and investors. #CentralHarlem, in particular, has seen significant growth in multifamily developments over the past five years. Known for landmarks like the Apollo Theater and the Studio Museum, the area now features modern buildings with amenities, drawing a diverse mix of residents. These developments have spurred economic growth, leading to new businesses and enhancing the neighborhood's appeal. Central Harlem's blend of cultural attractions, historic landmarks, and modern developments positions it for continued growth and investment. Explore development: https://bit.ly/3zTllWu #MarketRent #CentralHarlemRealEstate #WalkableNeighborhoods #UrbanInvesting #CentralHarlem #WalkableCities #AffordableHousing #NYCNeighborhoods #RealEstateDevelopment

"Once upon a time, finding an affordable yet luxurious apartment seemed impossible. But then came TSAVO, redefining real estate since 2015. Imagine waking up in this beautiful, sunlit studio, knowing your investment is working for you even as you sleep. With zero deposit and zero interest, TSAVO's high-occupancy apartments promise both comfort and financial independence. Welcome to a new way of living. #OurStory #TSAVODelivers #EarnWhileYouSleep"

Important consultation on pedestrianising the upper end of Camden High Street, as well as other traffic rerouting measures. Given that Camden has some of the worst air quality in the UK, this could hopefully partially address that issue by directing traffic away from areas of heavy footfall. The most appealing aspect to me, however, is making Camden a better place to live, work and visit. Pedestrianisation is a tried and tested way of improving the attractiveness of streets for residents, businesses and employees, and of course people looking for somewhere to shop, dine or even bank. In my own home town of Cardiff, the pedestrianisation of St Mary's Street, from a citizen's perspective, has been a definite positive, and made Cardiff's small city centre feel like more of an attractive place to visit. Yes, there are trade-offs with congestion and commuting times, but that's why we have consultations, to work these things out and make a decision on balance, and understand what the impacts will be. There's also an opportunity in the consultation to provide more general feedback on the future of Camden High Street, which I'd encourage you to feed into as well. From what I can see, having only moved just under two years ago, I think Camden has definitely lost some of the identity and authentic character that made it so appealing in the first place to so many people, which nevertheless continues to attract people to it today. Pedestrianisation would be a good start, but as stakeholders in the area, we need to start thinking about what kind of place we want to live in and use. Looking at initiatives that organisations like Someday Studios in partnership with Westminster City Council are undertaking to try to provide Oxford Street with a greater sense of character, by bringing in unique, high-quality independent businesses that would otherwise possibly be perceived as "higher-risk" by commercial property landlords, is a good example of what's possible. Highstreets in the UK have for too long been left to blunt market forces to decide which businesses and organisation set up shop, with no wider placemaking strategy or ambition, and apparently without adequate involvement of people who actually use those high streets. Hopefully this consultation, and the contributions to it, can help London Borough of Camden develop a bolder, more holistic vision of what town centres should and could look like. (P.S. Can we get CREATE STREETS involved somehow? Or is that too ambitious?) https://lnkd.in/ejF74Fug

What's in a walkway? Well-planned walkways are fundamental to creating a walkable city and an enhanced sense of community. Most city standards encourage designs to exceed the minimum typical width of five (5) or six (6) feet depending on road classification when possible. Learn more in the SRG 3.0 at scenichouston.org. #houston #streetscape #resourceguide #development #trivia 

Edvard van luijn, Commercial Director at Rockfield, recently conducted an inspiring workshop at DVDP on the concept of FRIENDS apartments, alongside AM Gebiedsontwikkeling, Woonzorg Nederland, and Gemeente Amsterdam. Our recent market survey indicates that a remarkable 59% of young people are interested in renting a FRIENDS apartment! Co-living offers a practical solution: by sharing costs, we can address the housing shortage twice as effectively. Our key findings, based on research conducted via our rental platform ROOFZ.eu with over 10,000 prospective tenants are published on our website.   In the G5 cities, 60% of individuals aged 25-35 live alone, with this percentage rising to 70-80%. Where are these people supposed to live? See all results at https://lnkd.in/ejTtDRyX #RockfieldRealEstate #FRIENDSApartments #HousingShortage #InnovativeHousingSolutions #CoLiving #MarketResearch #DVDP

A bit of a tangent - a new historical city-builder called Memoriapolis is in early access and I'm pretty sure the city-building algorithm uses a gravity-based accessibility model. The model is even credited to an urban planner! Each building you place has different levels of attraction. The larger and more important the building is, the stronger it attracts residents. As you place more and more buildings, your city develops naturally around the places with the highest attraction - where opportunity to access these buildings is strongest. Different types of factions value different opportunities - so your city evolves into quarters over time as they choose the spaces most suited to them. This is an interesting change from catchment-based city-builders like SimCity 4 and Cities Skylines, where you try to cover every inch of your city in your service building buffers (whether basic or network-based buffers). It's less deterministic than either of these games, both of which assume all pops develop the same needs as they get wealthier / more educated. It's also a great parallel to new access models we're building at HSR. As we're building out the transit network, we're aiming to maximize relevant opportunities for different communities across Hamilton. Each community has unique needs - some value access to jobs more than access to schools, and others need quick access to healthcare over recreation. And of course, no community is a monolith! So rather than take the SimCity 4 approach, placing bus stops to make everyone within 400m happy whether the bus goes somewhere useful or not, we're reverse-engineering the Memoriapolis approach. We know where the most attractive opportunities are and where Hamiltonians locate to have easy access to them - our job now is to build up the transit links so that reaching these opportunities doesn't rely on a car! #memoriapolis #citybuilding #accessibility #hsr #hamilton #transit https://lnkd.in/gat5Yr3p

Bilston has a history of doing things its own way. Legacies of making, social organising and innovation have cultivated a unique local energy — not least the first UK town to index happiness. With new central government funding coming into the town over the next decade, residents must be empowered to draw on this legacy to seed new cultural growth in Bilston. We’ve been working to produce a Cultural Infrastructure Micro-Plan to set a trajectory for culture rooted in local values. We’ve worked with the West Midlands Combined Authority and City of Wolverhampton Council – supported by collaborators PRD and Stockdale – and connected with local stakeholders who will take forwards opportunities. Current momentum to strengthen Bilston’s offer as a place for culture is strong and over £45 million is destined for Bilston across the next ten years. This micro-plan for Bilston’s cultural development recommends four priority projects. These projects align closely with Bilston’s cultural requirements and aim to leverage existing and emerging cultural initiatives, such as those led by the Gazebo Theatre, the new Urban Room, Bilston Market regeneration efforts, and the grassroots music scene. We recognise it is important to ensure opportunities for culture lock in Bilston’s values — the things like happiness, cohesion, and healthy communities that have always been important to people in this place. Understanding which town centre assets can play a role in this mission, and imagining how Bilston’s creative residents can activate them, will be key first steps in embedding culture in the town. Read more about how the Cultural Infrastructure Micro-Plan will do this: https://lnkd.in/eR2hzH2z #culture #creativity #westmidlands #bilston #towns #gazebotheatre #urbanroom