On its anniversary, almost all of Battersea's 100 units are now open.
Can a year really have passed since heralding London landmark Battersea Power Station as the last of the great shopping centers to open in the U.K?
Certainly none have followed and there are no more plans on the drawing board, with store requirements from retailers are unlikely to expand. Only the St James Quarter in Edinburgh has opened in the last few years, redeveloping a previous center in the strangely under-provided Scottish capital.
And even Battersea Power Station did not open without questions over the viability of what is ultimately an enclosed mall, albeit one in a striking architectural building just a stone’s throw from the relocated U.S. Embassy.
Redevelopment of the site has had a challenging history but in 2012 Malaysian money arrived and plans for the mixed use redevelopment of residential, offices and retail by the Thames emerged around a refurbished Battersea Power Station.
Seemingly homogenous outside, and made famous internationally by the cover of Pink Floyd album Animals, the building was in fact constructed in two phases in the 1930s and 1950s. The 1950s side is enclosed, moodily lit and gives off a kind of Cheronbyl chic, while the 1930s side exudes Art Deco grandeur.
Several phases of apartments, commercial and ground level stores and dining were completed first, while on Oct. 14 last year the company threw open its doors with around 60 of the circa 100 units available inside the two turbine halls, plus a substantial store for Spanish fashion retailer Zara and furnishing and homewares brand Zara Home, which share a 48,800 sq. ft. store on Electric Boulevard.
Chimney lift experience Lift 109 opened in November and has since ascended the building’s north west chimney nearly 20,000 times, apparently, travelling over 1,200 miles, or twice the length of the U.K.
Battersea Welcomes Apple
Since the opening, and 11 million visitors later, London fitness brand Third Space is set to open next year, and a 24,000 sq. ft. Arcade Food Hall has opened during 2023, plus a flagship Apple
“We knew that we wanted to be a retail offer for our local catchment and 20% of visitors in the first year have been from South West London,” says Cotton. “We also wanted to get on the map for international visitors and so far we have benefitted from the influx of American tourists, a lot of Middle Eastern visitors, and in 2024 we would hope to see the return of Chinese travelers.”
The Arcade food hall has opened within the building this year.
He recalls that it was a race against time to get the retail offering open for the launch last year and that the F&B component was largely missing on its debut, which now makes up a key element of the offering.
Neither were the offices populated at opening, but with Apple as the main tenant, they are now in-situ, along with SharkNinja and The Engine Room, a co-working space by IWG.
Wider Regeneration
The surrounding residential blocks are all but sold out now, adding 2,500 residents to the immediate catchment, while extensive regeneration of the area around the nearby American Embassy continues to bring yet more new residents to the area.
A 200,000 sq. ft. office block designed by Foster + Partners will complete before the end of the year, which will add several more ground floor retail units to the overall scheme.
The redeveloped mall is officially one on October 14.
The restoration of Battersea Power Station is the centrepiece of an ambitious regeneration programme that spans 42 acres on a 1,500 ft. stretch of the River Thames.
Coincidentally, one of the first modern shopping centers to open in the U.K. was the Arndale Center in Wandsworth, modeled on the U.S. malls of the day and just a few miles from Battersea. The Power Station feels like an apt book-end to the U.K.’s 50-plus-year mall journey.
