Bilfinger GVA has been appointed to provide strategic advice on the 350-acre Arden Cross development site near Solihull, West Midlands
The agent will advise the Arden Cross Consortium – a partnership between four landowners with a stake in the site: Birmingham City Council, Packington Estate, Coleshill Estate, and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.
Arden Cross has been earmarked as the home of the HS2 Interchange station, the first stop on the high-speed rail line outside of Greater London and the last before the terminus at Curzon Street in Birmingham city centre. The HS2 station itself will only constitute a small part of the overall site and the landowners are keen to ensure a long-lasting legacy.
Outline masterplanning focuses on 2,000 homes and 2.6m sq ft of commercial space with complementary retail and leisure uses.
Ben Gray, project director for the Arden Cross Consortium, said: “While HS2 will be responsible for delivering the interchange station at Arden Cross, it is important for us to ensure that the rest of the site is properly used to maximise related economic growth, best meet the demands of the West Midlands region and ensure a lasting legacy.”
Carl Potter, senior director at Bilfinger GVA, said: “Arden Cross represents a genuinely exciting opportunity to create a sustainable mixed-use destination at the heart of the UK. No other development site has this level of connectivity.”
The site is bounded by the M42, A45 and A452, and sits next to Birmingham Airport and International Railway Station and the NEC.
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