Insight
March 02, 2026
Design as Strategy, Not Just Packaging. You need quality GFA, not just any GFA
Refurbishing an asset is often mistaken for a “refresh.” Among investors, there is a natural, almost instinctive tendency to focus on the packaging—the surface-level aesthetics like interior fit-outs, new signage, or façade treatments. While these matter, they’re interchangeable over time. The true foundation of an asset’s success lies in its core planning and the quality of its GFA.
I’ve been reflecting on why some projects struggle despite significant refurbishment. Usually, it’s a fundamental conflict: maximizing “sellable area” on drawings and spreadsheets versus ensuring actual commercial activation of the asset. Many owners instinctively push to maximize every centimeter of leasable space. Yet over‑optimizing for square footage can deactivate the people flow a commercial property needs to thrive.
I see shopping malls with extensive street frontage—great visibility, perfect for integration with the neighborhood—yet layouts fixate on shop counts at the expense of permeability. When mall entrances are placed too far apart, a simple trip to an anchor supermarket can stretch into 400m roundtrip, even when the destination sits just 10m away. Instead of pulling people in, the planning pushes them away. A high-end interior refit cannot solve a layout that fails sensible retail planning.
The same logic applies when common areas are minimized to enlarge individual shop sizes. On paper, those units look like profit‑makers. In reality, they’re hidden deep in the floor plan, with no connectivity or visibility to the street. By prioritizing size over presence, visibility and frontage are sacrificed. These units become the hardest to lease because they lack the physical presence to engage the market.
Core planning decisions—connectivity, permeability, and people flow—are permanent. Interiors can be refreshed next year, but a planning failure that blocks customers is far harder to fix.
Strategic planning isn’t a cost—it’s capital protection. It’s the foundation that secures return long after the packaging fades.
Read the original discussion on LinkedIn →
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