Repurposing a Commercial Property Asset to Generate Financial and Social Impact
We analysed and identified alternative uses for underutilised car parks that deliver financial return and social impact, and we’re making them happen.
Context
Places for London, the property arm of Transport for London, owns and manages 70+ station car parks which contributes to more than 20% of total income. Fundamental post-pandemic shifts in travel behaviour have led to significant changes in car park usage patterns, impacting occupancy. Simultaneously, the Mayor’s Transport Strategy discouraged car-dependent travel, making traditional approaches to stimulating car usage no longer viable.
With the need to bridge commercial shortfalls while delivering value to Londoners, Places for London needed to rethink how this underutilised asset could be used differently to serve both financial and social outcomes.
Approach
We partnered with Places for London to reimagine station car parks as vibrant multi-use community and commercial destinations. Our work focused on four strategic areas:
Data-Driven Proposition Development
We initially applied a data-driven methodology to segment a subset of 22 sites, while engaging a wider ecosystem of potential partners or operators to inform creative ideation.
We used proprietary and public data sources and to identify patterns concerning car park (asset) characteristics, user personas and local council priorities. This led to a segmentation of four types of car parks, each with different characteristics and hence different gaps or opportunities for innovation.
For each of segment, we narrowed down what types of propositions would be the most valuable and likely to succeed.
We shortlisted two pilot sites in London based on strong demand signals for health, fitness, retail, and leisure.
Designing Multi-Use Hubs
We engaged partners across government, non-profits, public bodies, SMEs, and corporates to validate ideas on demand, feasibility and viability.
We developed a phased model to transform car parks into hubs with mixed uses through various delivery partners or tenants, such as sports activities, F&B offerings, and wellness services. Site-specific community needs and local demographic data informed the tenant strategy.
Creating Sustainable Revenue Models with Social Value
We helped establish commercial partnerships with projected revenues exceeding £1M annually just for one specific use. Our model includes flexible terms such as co-investment approaches, profit-sharing, and longer-term leases.
New hubs were designed to meet social programming needs, increase accessibility, and deliver measurable health and wellbeing outcomes, ensuring a return on both financial and social investment.
Building Stakeholder Alignment
We collaborated with councils, planners, and heritage stakeholders to build early-stage consensus, while designing a repeatable framework which can be used to scale across the wider asset portfolio.
Impact
This pilot laid the foundation for a broader transformation of commercial assets. It proved that even transport-adjacent infrastructure — when reimagined creatively — can contribute to more sustainable, inclusive, and financially resilient places.