DEVELOPMENT & PLACE

BIRMINGHAM 30 YEAR TIMELINE 2000 - THE MAILBOX Redevelopment of the former Royal Mail sorting office paved the way for a mixed use scheme comprising 2 hotels, offices, retail and residential, anchored by Harvey Nichols. In 2004 it became the new home of BBC Birmingham. In 2013 the new owners announced a refurbishment planned to coincide with the opening of Grand Central. 2012 - EASTSIDE CITY PARK Originally planned in 2004, Eastside City Park became the first new park in the city centre for 130 years. The park was made possible by a pledge of £5m from the City Council to commence the project. 2015 - GRAND CENTRAL, BIRMINGHAM At the nadir of the recession in 2009 Birmingham City Council, advised by Cushman & Wakefield, stepped in to buy the underperforming Pallasades shopping centre located above the then- inhospitable platforms of New Street Station, and formed a joint venture with Network Rail to simultaneously redevelop the station and shopping centre. Upon completion, the shopping centre, anchored by one of the UK’s largest John Lewis department stores, was rebranded Grand Central. The new development was seamlessly integrated with the Bullring and forms the core of the retail arc between New Street and Moor Street stations. 2003 - BULLRING The futuristic silver-disc-clad exterior of Selfridges’ Bullring store became an immediate icon for Birmingham and its city centre revival. Hammerson’s transformation of the neglected, brutalist 1960s Bull Ring Centre into a 1.3m sq ft thriving, contemporary shopping centre was instrumental in recreating central Birmingham as a retail destination. 2016 - EASTSIDE LOCKS The readjustment of plans for the Curzon Street area caused by the proposed HS2 terminus resulted in the creation of a new education quarter on the edge of Eastside City Park. Goodman’s 1.25m sq ft Eastside Locks (home to a new Birmingham City University campus) is just one of several schemes which are bringing other uses, including new offices and residential units, to the area. 2026 - SNOW HILL STATION Since Snow Hill Station reopened in the 1980s, kickstarting major office development nearby that re-established the Colmore Business District, the station is once again going to be redeveloped as part of wider development and infrastructure works in the Snow Hill District. Ambitious plans propose to create gateway public realm on Colmore Row and new office development above a new station concourse raised over the existing platforms. CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD VIEWPOINT Birmingham’s transformation over the past three decades is as impressive as it is remarkable. Areas that were bleak, uninviting and largely uninhabited are now vibrant and thriving. Where economic development was previously confined to within the inner ring road, it is now breaking through into the surrounding areas. The dominance of the car has reduced, extensions to the tram network are proposed, and new green spaces are appearing. This process of change is largely due to the drive of the City Council, which has been instrumental in bringing forward many of the transformative developments in the city centre, and in some instances used its own finances to deliver them. The most ambitious so far has been the redevelopment of the Pallasades shopping centre, which together with upgrades to New Street Station, has become Grand Central. There is a clear demonstration of a wide range of activity that has propelled the city forward since 2000 (see timeline). The need to maintain momentum and respond to economic and cultural shifts is recognised in the City Council’s Big City Plan which has already taken future developments such as HS2, and its impact on surrounding areas, in its stride. Birminghamwas once irrefutably billed as the UK’s ‘second city’, a title it is now vying for with Manchester. It is still the second largest city in the UK, attracts 34 million visitors a year and is one of the UK’s top three shopping destinations. And while it may not win the title, Birmingham city centre is one to watch. 2025 - PARADISE The masterplan for Paradise Circus was granted planning permission in 2013 and construction work began in 2015. The scheme, subsequently renamed Paradise, is a £500m development funded through a major private public joint venture with Birmingham City Council. The land surrounding Chamberlain Square is being transformed into a vibrant mixed-use development of commercial, civic, retail, leisure and hotel space with the final phase due to be completed in 2025. 2026 - CURZON HS2 The Birmingham Curzon HS2 Masterplan, issued by Birmingham City Council in 2015 under the Big City Plan, clearly defines how the area around the new HS2 terminal will develop when the rail link arrives in Birmingham in 2026. The masterplan builds on the Eastside Masterplan from 2011 and covers an area of 141 hectares. The new Curzon HS2 Station will be a world-class station set within high quality public realm and will help to deliver economic growth to the surrounding areas. 2030 - BIRMINGHAM SMITHFIELD Advised by Cushman & Wakefield, Birmingham City Council is currently seeking a development partner for the redevelopment of the Smithfield area. The vision for the 42 acre site includes leisure and cultural attractions, markets and residential uses. Completion of the masterplan is anticipated in 2028. 2000 2030 Photo credits: The Mailbox, Wiki user: Bs0u10e01; Curzon HS2, Flickr by Guy Evans 2013 - LIBRARY OF BIRMINGHAM Birmingham City Council began looking to relocate the city’s dated library building in the early 2000s. In 2006, the Council confirmed a new location next to Baskerville House and, after an international design competition, the library was constructed as a flagship development for the city. 2010 2020 2025 2005 2015 32 33 CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD DEVELOPMENT & PLACE