A planning application has been submitted for the Lumina development – 240,000 sq ft of Grade A office space in Birmingham city centre.
Sterling Property Ventures have announced proposals to demolish 39 Snow Hill Queensway, known as The Strip, a derelict 0.4 acre site of retail units and car parking spaces, to build a 15 storey building on behalf of M&G Real Estate.
The design proposals, by Birmingham-based architects Aedas, offer typical floorplates of around 11,500 sq ft of column-free office accommodation wrapping around a central core.
The plans comprise a new pedestrian link around the building, between West Midlands police headquarters at Lloyd House and the Holiday Inn, to Weaman Street, as well as a small amount of basement car parking. The planning process has been led by Birmingham-based GW Planning and should it be granted, works could start in Spring 2014.
James Howarth, Sterling PV, said: “We have carried out feasibility studies to determine the best architectural, planning and engineering options for this site resulting in our submission of a detailed application to Birmingham City Council’s planning committee. With little development and limited development options in the city, it is clear that there is appetite and demand for a well-timed office scheme with efficient deliverability.
“As part of Birmingham City Council’s Enterprise Zone, this site is one of the city’s key areas for transformation. Our proposals for the development of this site would replace a current eyesore with a high quality frontage to Snow Hill Queensway and achieve a critical mass of commercial development in one of the Big City Plan’s priority locations.”
The design team is targeting BREEAM Excellent under 2011 regulations, which is supported by the sustainable reuse and more intensive use of a brownfield site.
John Fyfield, development director at M&G, said: “These proposals see another jigsaw in the development of the Snow Hill area, providing high class office accommodation capable of delivery into a market which has seen little recent development activity.”
