Manchester-based developer Nikal has won consent for the next phase of its £600m mixed-use development at Birmingham’s Masshouse.
Outline consent has been granted for the second-phase plans, known as Exchange Square. Masshouse is located in the city’s Eastside regeneration zone.
Nikal originally won outline planning consent in 2008 for 645,000 sq ft of grade A offices, shops and a 200-bedroom hotel, plus flats, set around a public square.
Under the revised plans, the developer will build 600,000 sq ft of grade A offices. The buildings will be reconfigured to provide larger floorplates across fewer floors. The hotel and flats will also be provided.
The location of the public square has been shifted to the edge of the site. The application allows for the delivery of the scheme to take place in phases, with any single building and the public realm able to be developed first.
James Payne, development director at Nikal, which has sole ownership of the site, said: “Exchange Square represents one of only a few deliverable solutions to the perceived upcoming shortage of grade A space in Birmingham over the next two years.
“With a cleared site and infrastructure in place, we could achieve completion of any of the planned buildings within 18 months.”
Nikal has worked closely with Glenn Howells Architects on the revised plans. Detailed plans for each of the buildings are now being worked up.
Situated in the city centre enterprise zone, Exchange Square will sit close to the proposed HS2 terminus if it gets the go-ahead.
Originally granted planning consent in 2008, the plans for Exchange Square were revised and resubmitted to Birmingham city council following the economic downturn and the announcement of a number of key infrastructure projects within the city, including the Big City Plan, which had not been implemented at the time of the original submission.
The resubmitted application also makes allowances for the delayed Magistrates Court, which was the original anchor-use for the first phase of Masshouse.
Jones Lang LaSalle and GBR Phoenix Beard are joint letting agents. Savills advised on planning.
lisa.pilkington@estatesgazette.com
