The Old Post Office Site Welcome to our Second Exhibition St George is delighted to have acquired The Old Post Office Site. The site comprises: Kingston Town Centre The site is currently underutilised and contributes very little to the local area. The site is within the Council s Eden Quarter Development Brief area which has been identified as an opportunity for regeneration and suitable for building new homes, shops and restaurants. T h a m e s Two surface car parks A part occupied office building and vacant office building Two listed buildings, both on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk Register: the Old Post Office and the Telephone Exchange Kingston B Kingston Station Rotunda John Lewis The Bentall Centre ridge Brook House and car park St ree t Brook Street Guildhall Wh Charter Quay w w w.theoldpostofficekingston.com dw ay ea tfi el Market Place Eden Walk Shopping Centre Ed en R i v e r All Saints Church The Old Post Office Site Fairfield
The story so far St George held a first public exhibition in July 2014 shortly after we acquired the site. We were delighted that over 600 people took the time see our initial vision, with over half the visitors leaving feedback. What you said has informed these more detailed proposals. Boards from July Public Exhibition In response to the feedback we changed the name of the site from The Ashdown Road Car Park to The Old Post Office Site. We are pleased to now be able to show the development proposals in more detail. The following five themes underpin our aspirations for the redevelopment: A new town centre destination Pedestrian linkages and public open space Distinct architectural character High quality new homes July Public Exhibition A mix of uses
What you told us At the last public exhibition we asked local people What would you like to see more of in Kingston town centre? Are there any factors we should consider in our proposals? about their priorities for Kingston town centre. You told us that you would like to see more: Offices Student housing Night life Design priorities: Shops 1. Improve the public realm Public spaces Public spaces 2. Preserve heritage buildings Leisure facilities 3. Increase connectivity Restaurants Homes Homes Use priorities: Shops Restaurants Leisure facilities 1. Community and Arts facilities 2. Aspirational retail, restaurants and cafes The top four factors that local people would like 3. Housing reflected in the local development are: Improvements to the public realm Preservation of heritage Community facilities Aspirational retail, restaurants and cafes Are there any other developments/areas of Kingston that are good examples of what we should be trying to do here at The Old Post Office Site? do here at the Ashdown Road Car Park site? Market Place Old London Road When asked what other developments in Kingston Charter Quay St George should consider as a benchmark, the one most frequently mentioned was Charter Quay. This residential-led mixed use development Riverside with high quality public realm is a St George development that was completed in 2004, and was also designed by John Thompson & Partners. Charter Quay Riverside Market Place Old London Road
What you told us - Heritage Preserve and enhance the heritage buildings The Old Post Office 1974 The Old Post Office 1974 The borough has over 300 listed buildings of which three are on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk Register meaning that they are in danger of dereliction. Two of these are on our site. Our development would reinstate these buildings and bring them back into use. We would make The Old Post Office the centrepiece of the development and reinstate the Telephone Exchange. Our proposals would place the Post Office within a new public space to celebrate the building as the Computer generated image of The Old Post Office looking from Brook Street heart of a new retail and restaurant quarter.
What you told us - Heritage We will retain and refurbish the The Telephone Exchange 1975 The Telephone Exchange 1975 Telephone Exchange to create a fantastic new office building providing modern business space. Proposed East Elevation Proposed North Elevation Precedents of historic building conversions
What you told us - Public Realm Improved public realm was the most frequent Artist's impression proposals for The Old Post Office comment cited in feedback. In response, our proposals include: A new square around The Old Post Office Significant high quality landscaping including planting of mature trees Creating activity with shops, restaurants and business space Integration with Kingston Council s proposed Mini Holland cycling initative High quality building materials and architectural design Computer generated image of the new public space from Brook Street
What you told us - Aspirational Shops and Restaurants Local people expressed a strong desire for Computer generated image of the new public square from Ashdown Road independent and niche restaurants, cafes and shops. A tailored commercial strategy will ensure the right mix of commercial occupiers to create a vibrant and attractive place. A mix of high quality restaurants and retailers will create a new destination within Kingston's Eden Quarter and complement the offer of the wider town centre.
What you told us - Community Facilities Local people would like to see community facilities as part of the development. We have already met with several local groups to discuss the potential for community space within The Old Post Office. Example of the double height flexible space in action Existing Photographs Our proposals include community facilities within the upper floors of The Old Post Office. This includes an attractive double height room, lit by a rose window, to provide flexible space for a range of uses and activities. First Floor Site plan highlighting the community space within The Old Post Office Second Floor Precedent images of community spaces
Our Proposals Reflecting the feedback from consultation, our Proposed Masterplan detailed proposal for the development will include: 1 Retention of The Old Post Office, to include restaurant, retail and community uses 2 Retention of the Telephone Exchange to provide high quality office space 3 A new public square 1 6 4 Aspirational high quality retail space 5 Flexible office space 4 3 4 9 2 6 Improvements to the surrounding public realm 8 7 New street tree planting 8 8 Attractive residents' gardens 9 9 High quality new homes 9 7 5 6 7
Landscape Proposals Our proposals for the landscape design encompass Site plan for landscape proposals a new public square, improved streetscapes (Brook Street, Ashdown Road and Wheatfield Way) and two new residents gardens. 2 11. New public square 22. Improved streetscapes 33. Telephone Exchange environs The new public square would be a vibrant ASHDOWN ROAD 44. Residents' gardens destination within Kingston's Eden Quarter for shopping and al fresco dining. It would provide a much needed 'hub' in this area of the town centre. 1 The streetscapes surrounding the new development would also be improved, with new 3 paving, tree and shrub planting, cycle parking and BROOK STREET lighting. 4 2 4 2 WHEATFIELD WAY Materials and Furniture Planting In the new square and streetscapes we are proposing high quality paving, street furniture and lighting to complement the existing and new buildings. A key paving material to be used in the square is Porphyry; a hard wearing natural stone with amazing hues. Porphyry Paving We are proposing a tree planting strategy, with tree species including: Feature tree - Liquidamber styraciflua (sweet gum) Brook Street - Acer campestre 'Streetwise' (Maple variety) Wheatfield Way - Pyrus chanticleer Sweet Gum Tree
New homes Our proposals will deliver about 400 homes to help meet the local housing need in Kingston town centre. In particular, the homes will cater for young professionals, people wanting to get on the housing ladder and those downsizing from family homes. Residents will enjoy two courtyard gardens and other communal facilities.
A mix of uses From our experience of delivering developments across London, we understand that successful places contain a mix of different uses and spaces which creates activity at different times of the day. We are proposing a range of uses to include approximately: 30,000 sqft of retail and restaurants 12,000 sqft of offices 3,000 sqft of community space 400 private and affordable homes These uses will be complemented by generous public spaces that help create a vibrant and welcoming place. Ground Floor Plan Mezzanine Floor Plan COMMUNITY USE OFFICE RESTAURANT/RETAIL RESIDENTIAL ACTIVE FRONTAGES Site Boundary Second Floor Plan
What we can deliver for Kingston Our proposals would: Computer generated image of The Post Office Building from Brook Street Provide a new destination within Kingston's Eden Quarter Deliver aspirational retail and restaurants Protect, revive and restore Kingston s heritage buildings Deliver new public realm for people to stop, eat and meet Provide an integrated and connected development Deliver new private and affordable homes Incorporate new community facilities Provide flexible office space Battersea Reach Summer Fair Putney Wharf Battersea Reach Imperial Wharf Jazz Festival Charter Quay
What do you think? We would welcome your feedback on Computer generated image of the new public space from Brook Street our proposals for The Old Post Office Site. Please provide your comments on the response form provided. Next steps We will use your comments to inform the final design of our development proposals. Once we have finalised our plans we will be submitting an application to Kingston Council later this year. Thank you for attending our exhibition.