An artist’s impression of the Battersea Power Station site. Parkview’s director of planning and design, the renowned architect Sir Philip Dowson, will oversee its redevelopment

The visionary project will involve the regeneration of a 38 acre (15 ha) site on the south bank of the River Thames, one of the largest undeveloped areas in central London.

At the heart of the development is the iconic Power Station building which will house premium retail, leisure and entertainment facilities centred around the theme of design excellence.  On the site surrounding the building, Parkview has planning permission for two hotels (a five-star, 400 bed urban resort and a 750 bed conference facility), a 5000 seat auditorium plus world-class office and residential accommodation.
 
The site has multi-modal transport infrastructure and Parkview will build "The Hong Kong Bridge", a pedestrian link to Pimlico on the north bank of the Thames. The Battersea site is located close to Victoria and Waterloo rail stations, and is adjacent to some of London's most desirable residential addresses. Wandsworth and its neighbouring London boroughs give the development a primary catchment area with a population of 2.6 million.

"Our starting point has been to ask how we can design a different space that fills a gap in this multi-faceted city," explained Parkview president Victor Hwang.

"We're not trying to build another Leicester Square or Las Vegas. Instead, we must offer unique functions so that people keep returning.  We must create a financially sustainable development and a world-class piece of real estate in architectural terms. If we succeed, this attraction could have the highest number of annual visits in the UK."

 The distinctive shell and four chimneys of the power station - one of the biggest brick structures in Europe - will be retained, and the master plan for development has been approved by English Heritage.

Among the more imaginative proposals currently being considered are construction of a technology-based ride up one of the chimneys, and creation of an exclusive restaurant with a single table atop a chimney and views across the entire city.

Battersea Power Station was built in the 1930s and decommissioned in 1982. It was acquired by Parkview in 1993. With the last elements of planning permission now being finalised, Parkview's UK operations are gearing up to move on site just before Christmas.

Related links:
The Hong Kong Parkview Group www.hkparkviewgroup.com
English Heritage www.english-heritage.org.uk