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Bob Ager outside the centre |
Dream come true for Bloomsbury
Bob Ager, who headed the renovation of The Brunswick Centre, explains why it’s now such a vibrant place, writes Sunita Rappai
THE Brunswick Centre is buzzing. Shoppers throng the array of stores that now occupy its new glass-fronted arcade. Office workers laze in the autumn sunshine or chat to colleagues over a cappuccino.
For Bob Ager, marketing director at Allied London, the property giant that bought the ailing centre in the heart of Bloomsbury eight years ago, the newly rejuvenated centre – at the cost of a whopping £25 million – is a dream come true.
He says: “When I came here last October it was sort of desolate – a building site really. It was difficult to see how it would end up.
“Now you come here and you see groups of people relaxing and enjoying themselves and it makes you feel really good. It makes me feel like we have achieved something.”
Designed by architect Patrick Hodgkinson and built in the early 1960s as a unique “mixed use” space incorporating housing, shops and offices, the Brunswick ran into economic problems and was never completed to its original specifications.
While the project gained iconic status, especially with architecture aficionados, the centre was largely shunned by the big brands. It also gained a reputation as a bit of an eyesore.
Allied London’s two-year refurbishment project – in tandem with Hodgkinson and architects Levitt Bernstein – has given the area a new lease of life.
A new lick of paint – white rather than drab grey – new landscaping and gleaming glass shop fronts have virtually doubled property prices and attracted brands such as Waitrose, Oasis, French Connection, Strada and, opening on Friday, upmarket deli and restaurant Carluccios, through its doors.
Mr Ager said: “The idea was to make it a place where you could come and shop, sit, eat and meet people and generally create a much more relaxed environment than most high streets – the perfect antidote to shopping on Oxford Street.
“What we want to do is maintain a good cross section of retail tenants so it appeals not just to the immediate vicinity but also to a wider catchment area,” he adds.
“If you are going to be commercial you have to have a mix of the high street brands that can pay the rents but we also want it be slightly eclectic, with interesting independent shops.”
Tomorrow, (Friday), the Brunswick will take another step forward as main sponsor and co-host of the first-ever Bloomsbury Festival. For Mr Ager, a Bloomsbury aficionado himself, the three-day arts extravaganza is another symbol of the rejuvenation of the area, including the Brunswick.
He said: “There is such a strong and positive undercurrent in Bloomsbury but the one thing it lacked was the finance.
“I took the view that if we could help develop the festival it would benefit us commercially and also benefit the community.”
He added: “We have been a sort of catalyst for making it happen but I’m sure it would have happened eventually.
“It’s great when you can do something that’s good for the local area and also works for you commercially.
“We are in a unique position where there is a great synergy between the two.”
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