Written by Luke Jebb

London’s property industry turned out in force for this year’s LREF and while there was no shortage of discussions about the headwinds facing the capital’s residential market, the mood around offices and commercial development was more upbeat. Strong demand for high-quality workspace in London’s prime locations remains positive – and that optimism was clear on the Place stage.

At 10am, those with an interest in the City of London (like me!) gathered to hear how the Square Mile continues to evolve and reinvent itself. Fittingly, while seated above the remains of the Roman Amphitheatre, the conversation focused on Destination City as a key driver of this ongoing revitalisation. Most recent data shows footfall in the City is still at 70% of pre-pandemic levels and it’s clear there is still more work to be done.

One theme that came across loud and clear was the shift in how cultural and public-facing spaces are being delivered. We’re seeing a consistent move away from placing these cultural uses on upper levels of developments and instead focusing on the ground floor, helping to blur the lines between inside and out and making these spaces truly accessible to all.

A few recent schemes we’ve worked on that embody this shift sprung to mind: 99 Bishopsgate, with its new 6-storey standalone cultural building; 63 St Mary’s Axe, home to the newly created Camomile Park; 65 Crutched Friars, as the new home of the Migration Museum; and 85 Gracechurch Street, which offers access to the newly discovered Roman Forum-Basilica.

Of course, this “rise of the ground floor” doesn’t come without its challenges. Not every site in the City can deliver such meaningful change at street level – but that’s where partnership can come into play. The challenge for the industry is how we come together to better connect these spaces and take a more holistic, district-wide approach to ensure these smaller cultural offers complement both larger interventions and the Destination City vision.

A great example of how these partnerships are starting to take shape is through meanwhile uses. At 10 New Bridge Street and 130 Fenchurch Street, developers have teamed up with organisations like the National Trust and Spark* to culturally activate vacant or underutilised buildings, creating immediate impact while longer-term plans are developed. These initiatives aren’t just token gestures – they’re drawing people into the Square Mile. Since opening, Seed130 (at 130 Fenchurch Street) has welcomed over 3,500 visitors, showing just how powerful these short-term spaces can be in the wider cultural picture.

Partnerships are not new to us at Kanda and we see meaningful community engagement as a way of sparking some of these to life. At the consultation events for these projects there was genuine excitement amongst stakeholders for what these spaces can deliver for the Square Mile and how they’ll help ensure the City of London remains a long-term, attractive place to work and visit.

Bringing developers, cultural institutions (and not just those within the Square Mile), residents, and elected members together earlier in the process can go a long way in shaping spaces that work for everyone, generate support for ideas, and build collaboration that makes ambitious ideas possible.

As Destination City continues to evolve, it’s clear that its success will be shaped by the ground floor and how we come together as an industry alongside stakeholders and the local community to better connect and curate these cultural offers. And if LREF showed us anything this year, it’s that the appetite for partnership, and progress, is as strong ever.

With Kanda having helped secure planning approval for 483 storeys and 850,000m² of commercial space in the City of London, including through engagement and strategic comms support, we have the expertise required to support successful projects in the Square Mile. Get in touch with us to find out more at info@kandaconsulting.co.uk.