Demolition & Gunsmith House image(s) from Stephen Giles; CGIs from Elevate Property Group.

You can follow the project here with us, as well as on Twitter, and on Instagram.

The build-to-rent scheme, from Select Property Group’s Affinity Living brand, will feature a series of linked buildings of six to 23-storeys, positively reactivating the canal-side plot to cater to the demands of the Birmingham rental market.

Offering large, contemporary living spaces, with new hybrid ways of living and working, Lancaster Wharf will feature floor-to-ceiling windows and fully integrated high-spec kitchens, in addition to a multitude of amenities.

These include a state-of-the-art gymnasium, with an internal and external sixth-floor terrace area, basement cycle storage, co-working spaces, residents and TV lounge, and a spacious waterfront garden courtyard.

With a contractor appointed, to facilitate the start of works, a historic ornate gateway will be dismantled brick-by-brick, stored, and reinstalled at a later date, while the wider site, which includes the former Police Stores Building, will be demolished in the coming months ahead. 

Follow us on Twitter & on Instagram for more development updates.

Lancaster Wharf, images from Select Property Group.

The site will be developed by Goodstone Living, the UK build-to-rent (BTR) property arm of Australian mega-company, Macquarie Asset Management, for its first BTR development.

The placemaking scheme will revitalise the former industrial site with 563 apartments and townhouses across six new buildings varying between three to 26-storeys, all centred around one acre of private garden space.

The new community will benefit from a new public realm, with amenities including a rooftop bar and terraces, private dining, a fitness zone, a nursery, private gardens, and public commercial and business spaces, further nurturing Digbeth's live-work-play ethos.

Be sure to watch the development with us (Buildsweare & Itsyourbirmingham).

Camp Hill Gardens, CGIs from Darling Associates; demolition images from Stephen Giles.

Chapmans Yard would effectively infill a long-term car park site with an 'I'-shaped block featuring 111 one- and two-bedroom apartments spread over five to seven storeys.

The brownfield site, long lost to demolition during the mid-20th century when the site once housed dense back-to-back and terraced housing, would re-introduce new frontages to both Upper Gough Street and Chapmans Passage for the first time in a generation.

Formed around two internal private courtyard spaces, the new community is set to benefit from biodiverse roofs, secure storage for c. 56 cycles, and a fifth-floor amenity space offering exercise spaces and views across the city.

Recognising the major new office and residential developments coming forward in the vicinity, Chapmans Yard proposes a healthy mix of 56 one- and 50 two-bedroom apartments (1-4 persons), alongside 5 two-bedroom duplexe townhouses to cater to every lifestyle.

This would be supplemented by a pedestrianised thoroughfare to Chapmans Passage, (eventually) stitching together the fabric of the street to provide fluid access to the historic Peace Gardens.

Chapmans Yard - images from Corstorphine+Wright, Itsyourbuild, and Google Maps.

Oakmount (*Creative Cedar Ltd*) plans to turn this grand old building into a flagship new c.155 bedroom hotel, operated by their own Press Up Hospitality Group, along with a viability-boosting rooftop extension that will include a Sophie's restaurant and bar.

The hotel-led destination also includes a full restoration of the Central Hall auditorium into a stunning new 1500-capacity event space to become one of the city’s premier event spaces.

Grade II* listed and built in 1904, the largely vacant and derelict building is currently on a Heritage at Risk Register and has seen a plethora of commercially unviable plans fail to materialise over the years.

It is to be rebranded as The Dean Birmingham.

A 'Creative Cedar' Power Gym, a traditional barber's, meeting rooms, and 'The Dalton Club' - a members club/ cocktail bar - will be among the vibrant new public-friendly bars, restaurants, and leisure brands available at basement and ground floor levels.

The project will create roughly 291 full-time jobs and will become Creative Cedar's first UK location.

PROJECT TEAM:
Developer: Oakmount (*Creative Cedar Ltd*) 
Architect: TODD Architects
Operator: Press Up Hospitality Group (Part of Creative Cedar)
Structural Engineer: Heyne Tillett Steel
MEP Engineer: Semple McKillop
Interior Designer: O'Donnell O'Neill
Fire Engineer: Sweco
Access Consultant: RLB
Acoustics: Anderson Acoustics
Planning Consultant: SLR Consulting

The Dean Birmingham, images from TODD Architects.

A 31-storey tower with 650 purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) units, 180 build-to-rent apartments within seven and 10-storey buildings, and the conversion of the site's two western Grade II* listed buildings into a publicly accessible gym and café are among the plans proposed, allowing for a new neighbourhood to thrive.

New courtyards and private landscaped canal-side areas would serve as private green spaces for future tenants and students, offering pleasant green spaces in the city centre.

The listed buildings, which formerly housed the Queens Hospital, would be integrated into the wider development to become a true focal point of a new community.

The western building would be opened up to the public to include a café and gym, as well as a bike store with resident workspaces. The eastern building could facilitate high-quality graduate accommodation (as seen below).

EXISTING EAST BLOCK:

EXISTING WEST BLOCK:

Have your say

You can share your feedback by:

• Completing the online form here
• Emailing contact@queenshospitalclose.co.uk
• Freephone number on 0808 1688 296 and a member of the team will call you back

We ask that you share your feedback by Wednesday 18th May.

Queens Hospital Close, images: www.queenshospitalclose.co.uk.

With plans unaminously approved, all existing listed buildings at Key Hill Town End will be preserved, restored, and reused for future generations to saviour. 

New build elements will also be delivered to offer a total of 62 studios, one to three-bedroom apartments, townhouses, duplexes, and ground floor commercial units.

KEY HILL TOWN END

40% of Key Hill Town End is situated at 17-21 Hockley Hill – home to 1913-built, Gem Buildings, a Grade-II* listed building to be refurbished to provide 16 loft studios & duplex apartments; and the 1824-built, Harry Smith Buildings – three integrated buildings set to retain its commercial studios with six apartments above.

The remaining 60% resides over the road on Key Hill Drive, and these would see new builds and refurbishments.

These include the demolition of 54-58 Key Hill, which will be replaced with 23 apartments with commercial, courtyard, and a communal roof terrace; 1-2 Key Hill Drive: new build and refurbished elements to offer 13 apartments; and 3-4 Key Hill Drive: two refurbished former Victorian houses into two houses and two studios.

The development will provide spaces for 9 cars and 65 cycles.

AFFORDABLE WORKSPACE & PUBLIC REALM IMPROVEMENTS

PCPT has agreed that 50 per cent of the commercial floor space, equating to 5,022K SF, will be made available to the creative industries.

In addition, around £60,000 will be put towards Public Open Space improvements - namely improvements to nearby Key Hill cemetery.

Key Hill Town End, images from PCPT Architects and Google Maps.

Follow Buildsweare on Twitter & Itsyourbirmingham on Instagram for updates.

Starting life as a hotel and vegetarian restaurant that once played host to Indian independence campaigner Mahatma Gandhi, Murdoch and Pitman Chambers is to be refurbished and converted into 28-bedrooms, complete with a new 11-storey offering an additional 128-bedrooms to the rear.

Creating up to 70 new jobs, the building will receive new and improved shopfronts and entrance doors, as well as window frames and terracotta sculpture and dry rot repairs. All modern fittings will be removed and all original features reinstated (chimneypieces, cornices, doors).

Boosting viability, a set-back cuboid-esque 11-storey terracotta extension comprising an additional 128 bedrooms, developed in response to the major constraints that hamper the site, will be built to the rear, separated by a glazed link.

These constraints include limited access (as seen below) and its close proximity to nearby court buildings.

Facilities will include a restaurant/ bar, a gymnasium, and meeting rooms. 

To facilitate construction works the part-demolition of a rear four-storey wing of the Pitman Building will need to be undertaken.

Earlier this year, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) agreed in principle to make an investment to kickstart the scheme. A hotel operator has not yet been announced.

These plans have been brought forward by MP Devco Ltd - a concoction of Czero Developments, Trigram Properties, and Regal Property Group - with BPN Architects and Donald Insall Associates.

Murdoch and Pitman Chambers, images from BPN Architects & Donald Insall Associates.

Follow Buildsweare on Twitter & Itsyourbirmingham on Instagram for updates.

The proposal would see two new 'u-shaped' blocks erected on site (yellow and green), replacing five existing 90s-built student accommodation buildings, with up to 179 build-to-rent (BTR) apartments, in a new 7-10 storey new build, and up to 766 purpose-built student accommodation within a 7-c.30 storey tower. 

The existing site also includes two Grade II* listed properties (pink) that make up the Birmingham Accident Hospital (East Block and West Block). These highly significant heritage buildings are to be retained, refurbished, and converted to become a historic focal point of the new scheme.

These eagerly awaited plans are expected to be submitted by late May onwards.

The project is being brought forward by Tiger Developments, Aventicum, and renowned architect, Chapman Taylor, with consultancy from Turley.

EXISTING STUDENT ACCOMMODATION:

EAST BLOCK (Block D):

Proposed uses for East Building look set to facilitate high-quality student graduate accommodation. 

WEST BLOCK (Block C):

West Block has scope to be converted into a communal mixed-use building that could feasibly house a market space.

Queens Hospital Close, images courtesy of Turley; Oosoom, Wikipedia.

Follow: Buildsweare on Twitter & Itsyourbirmingham on Instagram for updates.

3rd April 2022

7th April 2022

8th April 2022

11th April 2022

13th April 2022

17th April 2022

26th April 2022

Photography by Daniel Sturley.

Image kindly taken by Kingsheathen.

There are now nearly 200 photos of the construction of this building, and these can now be seen in reverse date order in the full gallery here: The Square, Broad Street - Full Construction Photo Gallery

25th September 2021

21st February 2022

23rd February 2022

Photography by Daniel Sturley.

26th February 2022

Photography by Stephen Giles.

8th March 2022

Photography by Daniel Sturley.

26th March 2022

Photography by Daniel Sturley.

28th March 2022

Image from Paradise Birmingham webcam.

5th April 2022

8th April 2022

12th April 2022

20th April 2022

Photography by Daniel Sturley.

26 April 2022

Image from Paradise Birmingham webcam.

Octagon; ©Glenn Howells Architects.

There are now nearly 100 photos of the demolition and site preparation for this building, which can be seen in reverse date order in our full gallery here: One The Octagon Full Construction Gallery

South Central is a 28-storey new build of 154 apartments & a ground-floor commercial unit.

With Wates progressing well on site, the Essex Street Properties Ltd development, designed by Glancy Nicholls, is subject to an additional two storeys and twelve apartments, taking the city's latest tower up to 30 floors and 166 apartments.

With a clear aspiration for a necklace of well-designed talls extending from Belgrave Middleway up to the Holloway Head island, South Central will become the first of many.

Designed with an elegantly curved tram-inspired terracotta façade, the building will offer a selection of one to three-bedroom apartments, with a double-height commercial unit on Bristol Street.

Soon-to-be-enjoyed facilities for residents include a double-height ground-floor entrance, with reception, foyer, parcel, and post areas. A concierge, community room, and cycle storage space - including a workshop - for 76 bicycles, will also be provided.

The crowning feature, however, will be its spacious roof terrace, complete with an open-air sky garden that will feature spaces for socialising, relaxing, and even taking part in yoga classes. There will also be space for a dedicated rooftop cinema experience.

..and as the site is a tight old affair, we flew overhead to capture the constrained site:

Images taken on April 8, from Stephen Giles.

All images are the property of Essex Street Properties Ltd/ Glancy Nicholls Architects.

Designed by local practice, Glancy Nicholls Architects, Lead Works pays homage to the site's previous use as a Lead Mill in 1890 by featuring a largely red brick building, with a recessed teal glazed entrance, vertical banding, and titanium windows.

A new public bar and restaurant will be featured at ground floor level, with a mezzanine gallery lounge and 198-bedroom accommodation on the upper floors, in addition to new paving and greenery to the site's frontage. 

Revitalising and densifying a long-term car park, the site is currently owned by Lee Longlands - but they intend to sell the site to assist in their long-mooted plans to relocate their business elsewhere in the city.

Approved 8-0, these plans have been brought forward by Soller Group, Glancy Nicholls Architects, and PJ Planning.

All artist's impressions are the property of Glancy Nicholls Architects

Steel Life Group Ltd, in collaboration with Birmingham City Council, is seeking the go-ahead to build a vibrant 'Pop Up' Hub consisting of 86 steel containers, each providing affordable flexible space for local commercial and leisure businesses to thrive.

New housing, an enhanced Perry Barr train station, and improved access surround the island site at Galey Park, Walsall Road. The project, temporary for a period of seven years, will reinvigorate the site which would have otherwise have been left dormant.

Spread across two phases, phase one will see an initial 14 containers prior to the Commonwealth Games, with an additional 72 containers following the games.

Offices, retail, bars/restaurants, leisure, education, and other civic functions, could be included.

External seating areas, a play area, outdoor terraces, and giant outdoor screens for community events will be provided, catapulting Perry Barr into becoming a vibrant new destination.

These plans will be reviewed by Birmingham City Council's planning committee on 7 April.

All images are the property of Steel Life Group.

Approved by 10 votes to 1, the site involves the demolition of their City Centre Car Company Ltd building and the formulation of three new builds ranging from six to eight storeys.

A total of 131 one-, two- and three-bed apartments, two ground-floor commercial units (2.238K SF), and spaces for circa. 140 cycles, are to be created – with 5% of the homes to be offered at a 30-40% discount.

It is anticipated that the Bradford Street facing commercial units could facilitate the sale of food and drink, financial services, or professional services.

Developed in consultation with Birmingham City Council (BCC), a new pedestrian link will dissect the Bradford Street blocks, connecting Lombard Street through to Green Street and (potentially) onto Digbeth High Street.

All this is part of the wider Rea Valley Urban Quarter SPD, further supporting Digbeth’s ongoing regeneration.

All CGIs are the property of K4 Architects.

Since opening its doors in 1997, the building has been let on a 25-year lease to a single occupier - a lease that expires in March 2022.

The building has seen limited investment since then but now presents a major opportunity to upgrade the building to provide a modern Category A sustainable workplace.

To remedy its poor relationship at ground floor level the site will see the removal of all existing ramps, stairs and balustrading, and the creation of a new two-storey entrance lobby and reception, allowing the building to spill out onto its elegant surroundings.

With new ground and first-floor facades introduced, the building will also undergo a wholesale replacement of all M&E to an all-electric, energy-efficient system as the client targets EPC-A and Net Zero Carbon.

Showers and lockers will be available alongside a staff screen room, a wellness suite, and a quiet room. A cycle hub will offer spaces for 122, alongside maintenance stands, and six EV charging points.

Perhaps the most noticeable feature will be at the building's peak. A new angled extension will be built, complete with a glazed roof and generous external amenity spaces, all finished off in a warm, dark bronze metal cladding.

All images are the property of 5plus Architects.

The Engineering and Sustainable Construction Centre, on track to open in 2023, will offer state-of-the-art courses and facilities specifically designed to train and upskill learners that support employers and their supply chains.

The centre, located on George Street within the Jewellery Quarter’s Conservation Area, will specialise in robust courses that support the region’s growth areas, including cyber and digital skills, sustainable construction methods, manufacturing technologies, renewable energy, and robotics.

The James Cond Building's revitalisation will bring new life to the historic site (below) while honouring the area's rich history and delivering essential skills, job, and training opportunities, which is expected to support more than 1,200 learners by 2025.

UCB has formed a new partnership with the University of Warwick, which will help broaden access to education and training opportunities and create clear pathways to employment. 

Tilbury Douglas Construction is the development partner on the transformational scheme.

Images from Lucas Architects.

The Sama Investments development (SIG 23 Ltd) was purchased in Q3 2021 as part of Birmingham City Council's land disposal policy and spans nine floors with amenities, a courtyard, and a roof terrace.

With the surrounding area dominated by student housing, the project has been deliberately designed to blend in with its context while offering its own aesthetic appeal.

A total of 76 studios and 20 cluster flats will be created, all offering en-suite accommodation, with Velo Student Living - a newly established company from the applicant - looking set to operate the building.

At ground level, amenities will include a lobby, games room, yoga room, lounge, gym, and laundry facilities. Above the ground floor, a mezzanine will offer communal study spaces, while the sixth floor will provide a ‘roof lounge’ giving access to an external roof terrace.

An intimate courtyard garden will provide extra R&R places for students, as well as up to 55 bicycles (30%), in what is primarily a car-free project.

Another empty plot to be developed! Be sure to watch this project with us.

The plans include a new public square dubbed ‘Ratcliff Square’, Western Terrace, Ratcliff Passage, and enhancements of both Paradise Street and Easy Row Subway – the latter offering fluid links to Alpha Tower, Arena Central, and beyond.

To the west, Easy Row Subway, which connects Alpha Tower and the Arena Central development to Paradise and the city core, will be enhanced and refurbished.

It will be linked to Western Terrace, the westernmost public space, and will provide spaces to dwell and meet up with friends and colleagues.

Centrally, a new public square (‘Ratcliff Square’) is located, surrounded by the now-approved seventeen-storey Hotel (‘One Ratcliff Square’), Three Chamberlain Square (proposed), and One Centenary Way (under construction).

The square, like the others, will act as a largely transient space, allowing users to dwell and meet up. Access will also be given to the wider basement connecting the service corridor, as well as Paradise’s new cycle hub.

Paradise Street will prioritise pedestrian circulation, with vehicle uses reduced. While taxis, emergency vehicles & servicing will be allowed, in addition to the tram, the vast majority of vehicle movements will take place beneath Ratcliff Square in the site's underground service tunnel.

Ratcliff Passage, a new tree-lined street between the Town Hall and 3 Chamberlain Square, is to the east. The long-awaited monuments of James Watt and Joseph Priestly will be re-located here.

The public realm will, like Chamberlain Square, incorporate a high-quality mixture of granite and Yorkstone, to complement the historic civic heart of Birmingham.

Its "distinctive" night-time vibe will encourage pedestrian movements - contemporary lighting columns, integrated lighting into handrails and street furniture, wash/uplighting of trees and feature cladding, and building-mounted luminaries, will help achieve this.

All images are the property of Grant Associates, Glenn Howells Architects, and ISA.

The site is now free to deliver interconnected blocks rising up to 12-storeys, with elegant ground floor arches, and the provision of 456 apartments & 5,500K SF of ground floor commercial.

The apartments – 46 of which would be sealed with mechanical ventilation – offer a healthy mixture of one- and two-bedrooms - 178 one-bed, 268 two and 10 two-bed duplexes, in 2-4 person accommodation - with amenities including rooftop terrace(s), lounges, gym, courtyard space, and a new public realm called 'The Avenue'.

Costing £1.1M, 'The Avenue' is a tree-lined boulevard that will connect Lower Essex Street and Gooch Street North, ultimately offering fluid connectivity across the area whilst allowing the southern part of the site to be brought forward for redevelopment.

DEFERRED

The application was deferred back in early December to allow for further discussions regarding an Agent of Change with the live-music venue, The Fox public house, which sits adjacent on Lower Essex Street.

Members of the planning committee voiced their concerns that allowing residents to open their windows would not be “adequate in terms of safeguarding The Fox”.

BPG amended plans to incorporate 46 sealed windows (+£200,000) on a number of the units facing onto the pub. Thirty-five would be fully sealed with 14 partially sealed where the units are positioned at the corners with windows facing away from the Fox.

The development, which also includes conditions from approval, will be noise tested prior to occupation.

Plans were unanimously approved by 10 votes to 0.

CORTLAND BROAD STREET, THE SQUARE

Phase 1 (now under construction) of The Square will see a new landmark 6-35 storey build-to-rent (BTR) tower on Birmingham’s ever-evolving Broad Street.

Providing 440 one- and two-bedroom apartments, it is being delivered on behalf of US BTR giant, Cortland, and their JV partner, Harrison Street.

Amenities will include a gym, a landscaped courtyard with a 200m running track, cinema room, co-working spaces, lounges, dining areas, a bouldering wall, a roof terrace, and a tenant's club at the peak of the 35-storey.

Known as 'Cortland Broad Street', it is earmarked for completion in early 2024.

Phase 2 will see a standalone 8-storey mid-range hotel and, like the BTR element, will provide commercial at ground level and be set around a generous courtyard space.

This phase is wholly dependent on a hotel occupier. More will be revealed in time.

JANUARY UPDATE

Images from Daniel & Stephen; artists Impressions from Corstorphine+Wright.

EXISTING

All artists impressions are the property of the architect, Darling Associates.

On Thursday, January 20, detailed designs for a new landmark 17-storey (plus basement) hotel for Paradise Birmingham, Phase Two, are expected to be approved.

The upmarket boutique hotel, designed by ISA Architecture and Glenn Howells Architects, comprises 152 standard, family and penthouse accommodation, vibrant ground floor offerings, dedicated taxi drop off points, and a stunning 16th-floor panoramic sky bar with a covered terrace.

Designed with a scalloped facade to confidentially differentiate itself from neighbouring office buildings, the hotel will - subject to consent - be built in light buff brick with elegant bronze coloured window frames.

All ground floor uses - a reception, bar & restaurant - will flawlessly interact with the sites newly created public spaces, creating active frontages around the building.

There will be two main entrances: one on Paradise Street and the other on the newly pedestrianised Ratcliff Square, with 12 cycles at ground level, in addition to a secure ground floor cycle store offering storage for staff and guests to the 312-space Paradise cycle hub.

To minimise vehicle usage, the sites basement level will provide service and delivery access via the estate service tunnel, as well as housing the storage, kitchen stores and plant.

The Paradise masterplan will ultimately bring together hotel, offices, residential, commercial, leisure & new public squares to create a truly mixed-use destination.

Artists Impression from ISA Architecture & Glenn Howells Architects.

East & Green is a residential-led regeneration project set to deliver 130 contemporary one, two, and three-bedroom apartments. The project will ultimately replace the dilapidated structure on the corner of Bradford Street, Green Street, and Alcester Street.

Ranging from four to eight storeys, East & Green is predominately aimed at the young working professional in the city. With demolition resuming, three interconnected blocks will soon be constructed in a mostly dark facing brickwork palette.

Offering floor-to-ceiling windows, two landscaped courtyards will also be provided alongside a spacious roof terrace, providing fantastic views across the ever-changing city.

East and Green, developed by Merchant Street Capital, has been designed by Maith Design, with engineering and quantity surveying provided by Shear Design and Dalbergia Group, respectively. RGB Group will build the project, with forward funding from Maslow Capital.

All artists impressions are the property of Maith Design.

The partnership aims to deliver 5,000 units over the course of the next 5 years across the U.K, with a focus on low to mid-rise buildings away from the city core centre areas, offering cheaper rents with fewer amenities - with New Garden Square kicking things off.

Moda's new 'Select' model will offer top-notch customer service, integrated technology and health and wellbeing combined to offer the optimum rental experience.

The new neighbourhood is part of wider plans for Calthorpe Estates' Edgbaston Village, which will also be transformed into a thriving new urban community, complete with a tram route, best-in-class homes, retail, offices, leisure, and a new garden square.

Construction on the new apartments is expected to be completed by Q4 2023.

Images from Glancy Nicholls Architects, MODA Living & Calthorpe Estates.