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Property: Slow quarter for office market
Gensler moves to new home
The Birmingham branch of global architecture and design firm Gensler has settled into new offices at No. 4 St Philip’s Place.
Gensler Birmingham made the move after outgrowing their previous home at the Custard Factory in Digbeth, where the business has been located for the past six years.
The firm has grown by 30 per cent in the last year alone.
The new office, Gensler Birmingham says, will showcase its latest workplace research and celebrate the firm’s culture and the evolution of its growth.
Tariq Shaikh, managing director at Gensler, said: “We’re excited about our move to the St Philip’s Place and the opportunity to further grow our network and partner with clients from within the Colmore Business District.
“Relocating at this time offers us an ideal opportunity to determine the next generation of working environment, tailored around the needs of our design teams and informed by our research and learnings over the last year.
“Our new home will provide a flexible range of work settings, perfectly suited to our hybrid workforce, allowing us to create together and consistently deliver industry leading design.”
String of new developments to pick up slow office market
Birmingham’s office market had a sluggish and quiet first quarter of the year, according to real estate adviser Avison Young’s latest ‘Big Nine’ office market update.
Take-up of office space amounted to just 49,837 sq ft in the city centre and 20,326 sq ft out-of-town, a staggering 73 per cent below the ten-year average.
The largest city centre deal was 16,499 sq ft of space secured by Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) at B1 Summerhill Road, building on an initial 49,000 sq ft deal in 2020.
Slow start: Charles Toogood
The out-of-town market was led by recruitment firm Adecco’s 9,114 sq ft letting at T3, Trinity Park, Solihull.
According to the report, 19 of Birmingham’s deals in the first quarter were for under 5,000 sq ft of space, including two 4,000 sq ft lettings, to law firm Clarke Willmott at 9 Colmore Row and Sandwell College at 13 Bennetts Hill.
Despite subdued demand, Avison Young has said that a string of developments under construction were likely to make a dent on the city’s office market activity.
Key schemes under construction include Tristan’s 228,000 sq ft at 103 Colmore Row; 40,000 sq ft at STEAMhouse by Birmingham City University; 280,000 sq ft at 1 Centenary Way, Paradise and CBREGi’s major refurbishment of 213,000 sq ft of space at 8/10 Brindleyplace.
Charles Toogood, principal and managing director, national offices team at Avison Young, is confident that as Covid restrictions continue to ease, activity is likely to increase later in the year.
He said: “A combination of lockdown and the traditionally slow start to the year has not surprisingly resulted in well below average take-up activity for the Big Nine office markets during Q1, particularly in Birmingham.
“However, sentiment is improving noticeably, enquiries are increasing and there is enough recent activity in both the occupier and investment markets for us to be confident that as restrictions ease, activity will increase throughout the year.
“In both the city and out-of-town markets in Birmingham, the flight to quality over size is a clear and accelerating trend, seen in the volume of smaller deals coming through, with occupiers looking for less but better-quality space.
“However, there is limited stock and some buyers are understandably cautious about the quality of covenants and length of leases. With this in mind, Birmingham’s strong pipeline will provide much needed quality supply that will be in demand as 2021 and 2022 unfold.”
Blythe Valley Park neighbourhood hub complete
A £7.5m neighbourhood hub developed at Blythe Valley Park (BVP) has been completed.
Situated adjacent to BVP’s Virgin Active Gym, the new centre includes a convenience shop and space for a retail or food outlet, with the potential for an outdoor seating area and 48 modern apartments, 36 of which will be rented and retained by IM Properties, which owns the park.
Renewable green technology provides power to communal areas at the hub, and residents can access an electric pool car for short journeys, electric car charging points and cycle storage for up to 40 bikes at the centre.
The neighbourhood hub is part of a residential development being constructed at the park, which is home to business giants such as Arup and Gymshark.
More than 750 new homes are currently being built at BVP, with Bloor Homes and Crest Nicholson on site constructing homes, and affordable housing being built by Bromford Homes. An 80-bed care facility is also currently under construction by Macc Care Group.
Richard Knight, technical director at IM Properties, said that as the residential community at the park expands, the firm has plans to open more public spaces.
“We’ve invested significantly at BVP to create high quality spaces which underpin our ambition to create one of the first truly mixed-use schemes in the Midlands which seamlessly blends residential and commercial uses.
“With a site wide focus on wellbeing, we’ve made the most of the 122 acres of surrounding parkland and incorporated green open spaces and high-quality working and living environments which promote a good work life balance and healthy, happy lifestyles.
“As the residential community grows, we’re phasing the implementation of new public open spaces and play areas to encourage a flow of movement across the entire scheme, connecting up cycle routes and walkways, so everyone can enjoy the benefits of the wide-ranging assets.
“The new neighbourhood centre helps to connect the commercial and residential phases and add to the buzz of community life at the heart of the scheme, with people living, working and enjoying leisure time alongside.”
Green light for student accommodation scheme
A £24m managed student accommodation block in Stirchley has been given the green light by Birmingham City Council.
Developer Alumno has been granted planning permission to construct the accommodation on the former BT Telephone Exchange brownfield site on Dogpool Lane.
The residence will accommodate the growing number of students attending the local universities and dental hospital, taking pressure off private housing in the area.
The development has been designed by Glenn Howells Architects.
Dav Bansal, partner at Glenn Howells Architects, said: “The elegantly crafted red brickterracotta design of Dogpool Lane responds to several key local landmarks, including the red brick Selly Park Church and Dogpool Lane Hotel.
“Once completed, it will provide students with an attractive place to live, study and socialise in a healthy and sustainable environment. The project also reinstates a piece of underutilised green space as a matured setting for the building for
New kid on the block: The new Dogpool Lane development
both students and the local community to enjoy.
“The scheme has been a culmination of the many lessons learnt and experiences working with our long-standing client Alumno, and we believe this will not only provide a much needed and sustainable home to embed students in the wider community, but also a catalyst for regenerating this local neighbourhood.”
The development will house 167 residents, and include a reception and communal areas. The site will also feature public art being created via an initiative led by Birmingham poet laureate Casey Bailey in partnership with the Ikon Gallery, Writing West Midlands and pupils of the neighbouring Selly Park Girls School.
Promoting a cleaner local environment, the development will be car free, with students prohibited from bringing vehicles to Birmingham through their tenancy agreements.
Affordable homes for sports ground
Affordable homes built at former Victoria Carpets Sports Ground in Kidderminster, developed by Living Space Housing, have been handed over to social housing provider Stonewater.
Forty-eight homes are part of the first tranche to be completed at the complex 5.4-acre site, which has a project development value in excess of £8m.
The site located on Spennells Valley Road has lain derelict for a number of years, as previously planned uses for the site were seen as uneconomic because of the work needed to mitigate flood risk.
The developable area at the site has been raised by at least one metre and a pluvial flow water course has been created below ground to mitigate damage, if a flood was to occur.
Steve Davies, managing director of Living Space Housing, said: “Transforming this derelict former sports ground has been our most technically challenging project to date. We have worked successfully with all stakeholders to fully mitigate a number of complexities faced from the geographical position of this site and the whole team is proud of what has been delivered.”
