Birmingham City Council has selected Lendlease as its development partner to deliver its £1.5bn Smithfield project.
Lendlease saw off competition from a Delancey-led partnership for the 34.6-acre development in the city centre, which is expected to deliver 2,000 new homes and more than 3m sq ft of commercial, retail and leisure space.
Liam Fox, secretary of state for international trade, said: “[The investment] demonstrates the significant potential of the Midlands Engine region at a time when overseas investment into the UK is at its highest level ever.
“The Department for International Trade is committed to encouraging investment into the whole of the UK, and I’m pleased that teams from across my department – in the UK and internationally – were able to support this major project.”
Ian Ward, leader of Birmingham City Council, added: “The delivery of Birmingham Smithfield will be a major boost for Birmingham. With the new cultural and leisure attractions, the public realm, new homes and retail markets the development will appeal to both national and international audiences.”
The city council will now work with Lendlease to put together a planning application and a business plan for the site’s redevelopment before the formal award of the Birmingham Smithfield Development Partner contract. This is expected to happen by late 2019, with development expected to commence in 2022.
The site is part of the Birmingham City Centre Enterprise Zone, which was established in 2011.
Last year, Lendlease also won the contract to deliver Birmingham’s Commonwealth Games Village, having previously worked on the 2012 London Olympics.
Cushman & Wakefield was instructed by Birmingham City Council to run the bidding process for the Smithfield site in April 2017.
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