- Building: Woolwich Old Town Hall.
- Location: Woolwich, London.
- New Use: Artists’ studios.
- Renovation Timeline: Completed two years ago.
- Project Cost: £17.1 million.
- Purpose: Rejuvenate town centre.
- Status: Set for conversion soon.
One of the oldest local government buildings still standing in London, the Calderwood Street building was constructed in 1842 and is scheduled to be leased at a discount to Second Floor Studios & Arts.
Second Floor, which started off in what is now Thames-Side Studios, next to the Thames Barrier, in 2010 before relocating to Deptford six years later, would return to Woolwich in Greenwich if the sale is approved.
The company currently operates two studio complexes in Sevenoaks, Wembley Park, and Deptford.
An elevator would be constructed to increase accessibility, and the Second Floor would occupy two floors of the Old Town Hall, a training room in the Old Library, and a yard between the two.
One of Second Floor’s goals is to have 30% of its tenants from Woolwich, which is approximately defined as the council wards of Woolwich Arsenal, Woolwich Common, and Woolwich Dockyard. Additionally, there will be at least one open studios event annually.
The facility had been utilized by Citizens Advice and council-supported organizations prior to renovations.
The Greenwich Wire revealed two years ago that a drop-in center for senior folks had been evicted from its rent-free space in the Old Town Hall to make room for the renovation. Due to a leaky roof, the Indian Cultural Center, which had been housed there since 1988, was forced to relocate in 2019 and has since had difficulty finding a permanent location.
As part of the Future High Streets Fund program, which is funded by government levelling-up funds, the council had always intended for the Old Town Hall to become a “creative workspace.” However, selecting artists’ studios may come as a surprise to many who have had difficulty finding reasonably priced workspace in Woolwich.
However, the move comes after the long-awaited departure of the SET artists’ studios from Riverside House, an old council building that is being converted into a hotel and student housing.
The Woolwich city officers established the Old Town Hall, an early type of external government. Three times after the former Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich was formed by the junction of ten original boards and sacristies in 1900, the new association dislocated to Wellington Street, where the current Greenwich Council is still headquartered.
How many studio units will be created in the Old Town Hall?
No intimately available sources expose the exact number of artist plant units Alternate Floor Studios will produce in Woolwich’s refurbished Old Town Hall.
The January 2026 Greenwich Council advertisement confirms the parcel to Second Floor Studios for affordable creative workspaces, but omits unit counts amid the£ 17.1 million rejuvenescence.
Alternate bottoms near Thames- Side Studios & Creative Resource( SET Woolwich) preliminarily operated 300 workrooms before partial relocation, suggesting the Town Hall may host 20- 50 units given its lower footmark versus Riverside House’s scale.
