Creating Birmingham's Future
Inbusiness - August 2006
Birmingham has experienced many changes to its urban landscape over recent years and property developers have every intention of continuing its renaissance and proving why the city was awarded the accolade of becoming ‘European City of the Future’ less than a year ago.
The sheer amount of planned regeneration and large scale investment in the development pipeline looks set to continue the city’s rebirth for many years to come and property investment and development business Calthorpe Estates is preparing to lead Birmingham into the future with its £343 million regeneration portfolio.
The company is set to transform the Five Ways area with the major £110 million redevelopment scheme of Edgbaston Shopping Centre into Edgbaston Galleries - a high quality location for work and leisure.
The plans will see the existing 1960’s office and shopping scheme demolished and replaced with a new 40,000 sq m development boasting Grade A office space, retail units, a foodstore, leisure and hotel accommodation and 800 car parking spaces.
The scheme will significantly change the area and will provide a truly aspirational destination for office workers and residents alike on completion in 2010.
On the other side of Five Ways the Calthorpe House office scheme is set to herald a new future for commercial accommodation space in Birmingham with the development of a £43 million contemporary building.
The 9,530 sq m Grade A offices will set the standard for sustainable office accommodation within the city, aiming to achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘excellent’. The development represents an ideal solution for businesses seeking office space of the very highest quality and will undoubtedly draw the best employers to the city when complete in 2008.
Less than a mile away and Edgbaston Mill, the £100 million mixed-use scheme opposite Edgbaston Cricket Ground, is being created. The nine-acre development will become a prestigious place to live, work and relax and will offer a stylish alternative to city centre living.
On completion in 2010, the scheme will boast retail and restaurant units, office space, leisure facilities and a 120 bedroom hotel, as well as Hemisphere, a residential scheme offering 344 luxury apartments, which is scheduled to open in 2008.
A significant investment is also being made into Birmingham’s rapidly developing knowledge economy, through the development of the prestigious £90 million University Science Park, Pebble Mill.
The flagship 12-acre scheme is the vision of a unique partnership between Calthorpe Estates, Advantage West Midlands, the University of Birmingham, Central Technology Belt and Birmingham City Council.
The science park will boast fit-for-purpose facilities, including specialist laboratories and incubator units, which will allow technology companies to grow their business.
The scheme will be enriched by the close proximity of a cluster of academic and research institutes and will be pivotal to the region’s economic development, by creating a new sustainable skills base and over 4,000 jobs on completion in 2012.