PLANS have been unveiled for the regeneration of The Shawlands Arcade in Glasgow’s south side.
Originally built in the 1960s, the proposed regeneration will create a new shopping and leisure experience and an improved streetscape on Kilmarnock Road. The redevelopment is also set to offer the opportunity to provide new homes in the area.
The proposals are being brought forward by the arcade’s owners and operators, Clydebuilt LP, which is a property investment and development fund co-owned by Strathclyde Pension Fund and Ediston Real Estate.
Neal Jamieson, director of Ediston Real Estate, said, “The pandemic and growth of online shopping has increased the need for town centre’s like Shawlands to reinvent themselves and grow their appeal by offering an exciting mix of shopping and leisure and keeping the ‘High St’ experience alive. The new development will build on the success of the Shawlands Business Improvement District by adding to the eclectic mix of independent shops, bars and restaurants already offered by Shawlands and the new homes will bring more people to this lively community.”
Under the plans designed by HAUS Collective, the redevelopment will be phased, with phase one providing new retail units and more than 300 homes. Additional retail units and homes will be added in following stages. Phase one represents a £68 million investment in the area and has been tipped to support 120 construction and retail jobs.
Improvements to the streetscape will include constructing the new retail units on the same level as Kilmarnock Rd and creating ‘generous’ pavement areas offering the potential for active frontages. At the centre of the new development will be a landscaped public realm.
HAUS Collective’s Murray Henderson added, “As designers, we are rarely presented with the scale of opportunity at Shawlands where design can create such consequential change within a community. The redevelopment of the Shawlands Arcade however, is not about one single vision, but rather the accumulation of a series of smaller, more considered decisions that respond to the emerging challenges of density, diversity and liveability.”
The proposals are supported by My Shawlands, a Business Improvement District, which is funded by local businesses and managed by a board of Shawlands business owners.
