Birmingham city council cabinet has today approved a joint venture partnership to bring forward the development of the 1.8m sq ft Paradise Circus scheme.
The JV is between the council and Hermes’s managed British Telecom Pension Scheme.
Detailed planning, design and marketing of the first phase of the project will now go ahead.
Funding for infrastructure and site preparation has already been agreed, with £61m coming from the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership.
Chris Taylor, chief executive at Hermes Real Estate Investment Management, said: “As a long-term investor we are delighted to be able to progress this project with Birmingham city council. It follows on from our recent purchase of Baskerville House and demonstrates our commitment to this great city. We believe it is the right time in the cycle to be working with Argent and the city council to create what will be an exemplar sustainable development opportunity ahead of the anticipated recovery in the provincial office markets.”
Plans for the long-awaited mixed-use scheme won outline consent late last year. The city centre site, which covers 17 acres of land between Centenary Square and Chamberlain Square, was approved late last year.
Plans include offices, shops, leisure and cultural facilities together with civic amenities and a replacement for the existing Copthorne Hotel. The Paradise Circus proposals were one of the UK’s largest city centre planning applications approved in 2012.
The scheme’s first phase comprises a new road layout, substantial new public realm and two new office buildings providing over 250,000 sq ft of grade A office space. A detailed planning application is expected to be lodged in early 2014.
The development, designed by Glenn Howells Architects and Peter Brett Associates, will be progressed by Argent, which is backed by Hermes.
Altitude Real Estate and Deloitte Real Estate are advising.
lisa.pilkington@estatesgazette.com
