Character counts

By Alison Clegg, Managing Director, Asset Management, Grosvenor Britain & Ireland
Published by CoStar, 1st April 2021

While the industry’s focus on the role of ‘purpose’ in place making is leading to fresh thinking in some quarters, there is a very human feature of places that is arguably more important, but often overlooked.  It is a feature that, in a post-pandemic world in which we need to encourage people to return to our cities, may be more significant than ever.

That feature is character.

Character can be a hard to define, intangible aspect of a destination, yet its impact on perception, enjoyment of a place, and loyalty are very real.

People want to spend time in places that have character, interacting with people that have it too.  Similarly, brands want to be in places that have character.  Why?  Because character can convey something descriptive, positive and engaging about the brand.  For visitors, the character of a place evokes an emotional response, creating a meaningful connection.

While character in places can take many forms – after all, one person’s view of what character is could be quite different from the next person’s – its subjectivity is its strength.

Walking through Liverpool, for example, the character changes, influenced by the original purpose of the different parts of the city, the people, and the occupiers that have made the city’s various parts their own.  The World Heritage waterfront is steeped in history, with the brick former warehouses having been turned into shops, restaurants, bars, offices and apartments, and the old dock moorings for canal boats and barges.  There is, however, a character to the place that adds significantly to its appeal, above and beyond the offer available to visitors, workers and residents.

Crossing The Strand to Liverpool ONE’s Chavasse Park, walking up Sugar House Steps, one arrives in another place of character: a 4.5-acre park with views of the waterfront framed by One Park West.  A different space to what lies across the road, it has a unique character of its own and has become a popular spot in the summer for visitors and workers alike to soak-up the sun and feel the grass under their feet.  During the pandemic, visitors have been encouraged to use the park safely in accordance with socially distanced painted circles on the grass, such is its importance to people in the city.

The same experience, the changing character of one neighbourhood to another, can be enjoyed in cities throughout the UK and around the world.  In each, character is a powerful, influential force that shapes one’s experience of the place.

So what does this mean for the industry?  For landlords, we must reflect on and respond to the increased importance of character.  Most simply, we need to preserve it, but also ensure we build new places that have it.  Monolithic buildings, unwelcoming public realm, and soulless architecture are doing a disservice to not only what has gone before, but the very people for whom the place is for.

Instead, we must seek to inspire, to create connections, to build places that become part of, and add to, the surrounding character.

Places that stand the test of time, that become places people love and treasure, do just that.  It is not always easy, but Liverpool ONE is thriving because its 30+ buildings, designed by 20+ architects, were conceived with character in mind, individually and collectively.  Liverpool ONE reflects the surrounding context, while at the same time adding to it.  It reconstituted existing streets in the city centre, and retained features and references important to the Liverpool’s character.  These include Chavasse Park and the eagle crest from what was the US consulate in Liverpool.  Historic buildings have been retained, while new buildings respect views of the Three Graces on the waterfront.

And its success can be measured not just by its performance, or the performance of its occupiers, but by human sentiment.  It is no coincidence that, according to CACI, pre-pandemic Liverpool ONE was the UK destination that consumers would most highly recommend to others.  Its character is key, and the attribute that will drive the destination’s resurgence to new heights.