Birmingham’s £450 million redevelopment of the city centre’s Paradise Circus has been given the green light. Once completed, Paradise Circus will become a key area within Birmingham’s much anticipated Enterprise Zone – billed to become one of the most important commercial property ventures in the UK thanks to the proposed HS2 rail link with London.
The joint venture is comprised of Birmingham City Council and the British Telecom Pension Scheme along with the financial backers of Birmingham-based developer Argent, Hermes Real Estate Investment Management Ltd (HREIML), who will manage the project.
While the majority of the redevelopment funds will come from the Enterprise Zone allowance provided by the Government, the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership has agreed to supply £61 million to improve the surrounding infrastructure and prepare the site for construction work. This will allow the developers to commence the detailed planning, marketing and design phase with the blessing of the city cabinet.
Leader of Birmingham City Council, Sir Albert Bore, spoke of his delight about the Paradise Circus project.
He said; “Birmingham City Council has backed the Paradise Circus proposals for many years so it is a momentous occasion to have agreed a formal Joint Venture to help bring the plans to fruition.
“Nobody should underestimate the importance of the JV to the delivery of the Paradise Circus redevelopment.
“It brings certainty that the scheme will go ahead and will attract inward investment and employment opportunities to the city.”
The first phase of the scheme is expected to concern the road layout, public areas and, most importantly, two office buildings which will provide over 250,000 sq ft of Grade A space – something which the city desperately needs in order to attract international investors to the Enterprise Zone.
Altogether, up to 12,000 jobs are expected to be created in the Paradise Circus development alone. These will fall under a number of industries thanks to the mixed use nature of the project, including the hospitality, retail and financial sectors.
Managing Partner at Argent, David Partridge, called the joint venture agreement a “significant milestone” for Birmingham, saying; “After many years of planning, consultation and preparation, delivery of the first phase of the Paradise Circus redevelopment is now very much a reality.”
Do you think the success of the Birmingham Enterprise Zone will heavily depend upon how the Paradise Circus redevelopment is viewed by potential tenants, or will other aspects such as business rates relief have a greater impact?
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