The team behind The Mailbox is set to create its third landmark development in Birmingham after acquiring the vacant Post & Mail building on Colmore Circus.

The site has been vacant since the last October when Trinity Mirror’s Midland titles moved to a new home at Ford Dunlop. Since then there has ben significant interest in the building from a number of developers but a deal failed to materialise.

Birmingham Development Company, which helped transform the perception of Birmingham with The Mailbox and is currently building out The Cube, have not released full details about their plans for the building other than to say that it will become a new ‘landmark’ for the city.

BDC director Alan Chatham said: “It is exciting to find a building of this scale in such a prominent central location and at a value that provides us the opportunity to do something really special with it. Our company does not do ‘ordinary’, each of our schemes are complex and unique, and as such we will never build The Cube or The Mailbox again, we are looking to do something different that will make the most of the location and create a new landmark for Birmingham.

“The purchase of the site poses a fantastic new challenge for both BDC and BuildAbility. The Mailbox regenerated a part of the city that was previously unloved and The Cube continues to extend this offer in an area that has seen much further regeneration and residential development following on from our initial investment.

“We now plan to create a scheme that embraces what the Colmore Business District is about, whilst pushing the boundaries to provide an innovative scheme that will add to and complement the existing offer in the city core.”

The site is one of the most strategically important within central Birmingham - situated at the head of the traditional business centre of Colmore Row. The nine storey building, constructed in the 1960s, is located right next to Colmore Plaza, one of the biggest office schemes of its type outside central London and within just a few minutes walk to Snow Hill, New Street and Moor Street train stations.

In line with Birmingham’s Big City Plan, the proposed scheme will look to address the connectivity and lack of current amenities in the traditional business core. The 500,000 sq ft building could provide a mix of innovative retail, restaurant, leisure, hotel and office uses, together with car parking and would bridge the gap between existing commercial developments, and provide a welcomed destination and addition to the CBD.

Councillor Mike Whitby, Leader of Birmingham City Council was delighted to hear about the purchase and said: “Birmingham Development Company is a company with vision and an excellent track record of delivering innovative projects and it is fantastic news that they have chosen another prominent building in the city as their next scheme.  It is also great to see that even in today’s current climate, Birmingham still offers a real opportunity for quality property investment and development.”

GVA Grimley and Eversheds acted on behalf of BDC.