Spiceal St | Bullring | 20 000 sq ft food retail | Comp.

[Biosonic]

Return to roots for new Bullring restaurant hub
6th September 2010
By Tamlyn Jones - Business Correspondent

Artist's impression of Spiceal Street scheme at Bullring in Birmingham
A NEW hub containing seven restaurants is to be created at one of the region's biggest shopping centres.

Three new outlets totalling 10,000 sq ft will be built at the Bullring, in Birmingham, to sit alongside three existing restaurants and the new Italian eatery owned by TV chef Jamie Oliver which is due to open this autumn.

A public exhibition is being held outside the shopping centre on Thursday and Friday this week which will showcase the proposals for the 'Spiceal Street' scheme with a planning application due to be submitted to Birmingham City Council this autumn.

The project will draw on the history of the area as the original Spiceal Street was known for its hospitality, grocery and meat trade during the 1700s.

The area next to St Martin's Square currently has a fountain and pedestrian zone and the existing Gloria Jean's Coffee unit is expected to move elsewhere in Birmingham in due course.

The 20,000 sq ft project has been designed by architects Chapman Taylor and also includes a 'ribbon concept' curved roof linking the trio of new units, a new wall, water feature and improved pedestrian links from St Martin's Walk to St Martin's Square.

Real estate company Hammerson, which co-owns the Bullring with Henderson Global Investors and Future Fund, is leading the Spiceal Street scheme.

Lawrence Hutchings, managing director of its UK Retail division, said: "Spiceal Street will enhance Bullring's presence in the region and reinforces our long-term involvement and investment in Birmingham.

"We have a strong reputation for bringing new brands to the city and we are confident we can continue this at Spiceal Street.

"We look forward to sharing our proposals with local businesses and shoppers and we hope that people will take the time to come and see the proposals and also to share their views."

The exhibition is being held in St Martin's Walk from 10am to 7pm on Thursday and 10am to 6pm on Friday and representatives will be on hand to talk about the project.

http://www.thebusinessdesk.com/westm..._section=19011

[mikey23]

As I said in retail thread this looks rather exciting. Would be nice to see some independent restaurants as well rather than three more chains.

[Steldemetriou]

Does this mean the spiral cafe is going?

I should learn to read before i post a Question, it is a shame but welcome the bigger development, the space around the fountains has always been under uterlised.

[Guilbert53]

Originally Posted by Steldemetriou

Does this mean the spiral cafe is going?

The text above says

"The area next to St Martin's Square currently has a fountain and pedestrian zone and the existing Gloria Jean's Coffee unit is expected to move elsewhere in Birmingham in due course"

[Guilbert53]

This is the first I have heard of this project, and I find it a little disappointing.

To me the area between the Bull Ring and the church is a nice "gap" between the modern BullRing shopping and the historic church. I am not religious at all but feel the church deserves space around it.

Many people stand or sit on the upper balcony (near the Nelson statue) and have a bite to eat, or a rest, or admire the church.

But now the viewing and seating area near Nelson's statue will go, and the restaurant on the right (in the "dip") is looking very close to the chuch and will "spoil" the space between commericialism and the historic old building.

What next, a McDonalds in the grounds of the Cathedral in the city centre?

Look at this picture and see how many people are standing on the balcony on the right (exactly where one of the restaurants will go). We have so many undeveloped areas of Birmingham so why here (I know why, because it is a captive audience, but it is such a shame).

http://www.laosfriendship.com/St%20M...ngham,2008.jpg

[i_like_concrete]

Originally Posted by Guilbert53

This is the first I have heard of this project, and I find it a little disappointing.

To me the area between the Bull Ring and the church is a nice "gap" between the modern BullRing shopping and the historic church. I am not religious at all but feel the church deserves space around it.

Many people stand or sit on the upper balcony (near the Nelson statue) and have a bite to eat, or a rest, or admire the church.

But now the viewing and seating area near Nelson's statue will go, and the restaurant on the right (in the "dip") is looking very close to the chuch and will "spoil" the space between commericialism and the historic old building.

What next, a McDonalds in the grounds of the Cathedral in the city centre?

Look at this picture and see how many people are standing on the balcony on the right (exactly where one of the restaurants will go). We have so many undeveloped areas of Birmingham so why here (I know why, because it is a captive audience, but it is such a shame).

http://www.laosfriendship.com/St%20M...ngham,2008.jpg

I don't really think that this is going to hem in the church much more than it already is. And I'm not a particularly big fan of the current layout because the stairs are awful and have been covered in crap to stop people slipping over and breaking their necks, and the passage down the side of the Bullring is lifeless and lacks and frontages.

As for why they aren't putting it somewhere else, well, why would they? If you want something to be successful you put it where the people are, hoping that people are going to spend 15 minutes travelling to the arse end of Birmingham for what represents a tiny amount of retail space overall, just wouldn't work. The only way it would ever work would be to wait 10 years until Eastside/southside represent anything like attractive areas for investment.

[fruit&nut]

Originally Posted by i_like_concrete

The only way it would ever work would be to wait 10 years until Eastside/southside represent anything like attractive areas for investment.

I've not known you be that optimistic about Eastside before.

Inclined to agree with you though - it's in a good place for the passing trade that these units would need, as long as the offering is good.

I'll be sad to see the Spiral Cafe go as I do like it - hopefully it won't be lost in the Store of Doom for too long.

[Guilbert53]

Originally Posted by i_like_concrete

I don't really think that this is going to hem in the church much more than it already is.

Maybe not the two restaurant buildings on the left (on the upper level as it were), but the one on the right, down on the "lower" level, seems to be right next to the church.

Originally Posted by i_like_concrete

As for why they aren't putting it somewhere else, well, why would they?

I have no great objection to the two buildings on the upper level, they probably fit in with the overall BullRing concept (although they do seem to be nearer the church than the existing buildings).

But some things deserve a bit of respect and I think that area on the lower level is a decent space between the church and the BullRing and should be left "open".

I saw a news item the other day about putting advertising on the Colleseum in Rome, and one guy (an American no less) was complaining that more and more large adverts were appearing on the sides of important buildings in Rome.

He said Rome was getting more like Times Square.

I think this is a similar example. We have a historic building near the Bull Ring so lets give it some space.

[djay]

^ i some what agree with Guilbert, the development on the right hand side of the render for me is a little bit close. Exciting nonetheless

I wonder where the spiral cafe will go, I'd guess into storage for now/very long time and either end up at 1 of 5 locations i think;

Somewhere near the new Library or redevloped paradise circus

Beorma

Eastside city park

New Street Station after the refurb

Or on the east mall (selfridges) entrance of bullring

[GrAfiK_248]

i think this will be very special form of art - i look forward to more renders, especially the part to the right side of the church, currently just steps.

[ReissOmari]

..I love that their looking to expand Bullring, this was a huge space of random level surface and will looks good if approved, where is the new 'water feature' they are talking about, it will be a shame to loose the 3 cubes because they look amazing at night, and hopefully the café will stay on Bullring grounds..

Here is a slighty bigger render..

[WintrySarcasm]

Originally Posted by ReissOmari

where is the new 'water feature' they are talking about

I think it's behind the statue of Nelson, which seems appropriate. Looks like it waves a little to match the roof of the restaurant units.

[U475 Foxtrot]

I like it. Looks sensible to me as long as you can meander round to the balcony

[SimonTheSoundMan]

This will be a good addition the the Bullring. We have known for a while the spiral cafe was to move, and this explains why.

This will be a good addition to Martineau Place, Mailbox and Brindley Place.

Have new owners of the Bullring sold off Martineau Place yet?

[ReissOmari]

I think there is a bit too much space.. it also has egdbaston street space aswell..

i'll have to take a trip down and look at the showings on Thursday, because that one picture don't do enough justice

[Engels]

I don't think the church will really be any more 'hemmed in' than it is now. Looking at the plan the areas to the left and centre - look to be mostly along the existing lines of the building / steps... where there is currently plenty of space around the church it here. The most squashed area is between the church and the Selfridges building which currently doesn't work at all well and will benefit from re-envisioning - there are both steps and a large ramp making the steps superfluous and this is mostly a dead area with no activity.

[feltip]

Couple of articles on it from Mail and Post

New restaurant complex planned for Bullring
Sep 7 2010 By Jonny Greatrex

Birmingham shopping centre The Bullring has unveiled plans for a new restaurant complex and an outdoor public space.

The 20,00ftsq ft development will see the area around St Martin’s Square transformed with three new eateries in a new area called Spiceal Street.

Images released by the shopping centre show a sweeping curved roof, along with a proposed water feature.

It will be in place of the steps which lead up to the upper levels of the centre and Gloria Jean’s Spiral Cafe, which will both be relocated.

Bullring bosses are now waiting to see if city planners back the scheme.

The name comes from the 18th century street which stood on the site and was famed for its spices, grocery and meat trade.

An exhibition is being held at the centre on Thursday and Friday to give the public a chance to examine the plans.

It has been designed by award-winning architects Chapman Taylor and includes a “ribbon concept” curved roof. It will also improve pedestrian links between St Martin’s Walk and St Martin’s Square.

Developers Hammerson will be in charge of building the striking new complex.

Lawrence Hutchings, Hammerson managing director for UK retail, said: “We have a proven track record in Birmingham with Bullring delivering an exceptional retail focus for the city.

“Spiceal Street will enhance Bullring’s presence in the region and reinforces our long-term involvement and investment in Birmingham.

“We have a strong reputation for bringing new brands to the city and we are confident we can continue this at Spiceal Street.”

It is not known yet which restaurants will take up the space or how many jobs will be created.

The development will sit in front of the former Borders book shop which went into administration in November last year. In April it was reported that television chef Jamie Oliver was planning to open a new restaurant in the vacant retail space.

The exhibition of the plans will be in Central Street Bullring from 10am to 7pm on Thursday and 10am to 6pm on Friday.

http://www.birminghampost.net/birmin...5233-27219193/

Birmingham's Bullring unveils plans for new restaurant complex
Sep 7 2010

Birmingham shopping centre The Bullring has unveiled plans for a new restaurant complex and an outdoor public space.

The 20,00ftsq ft development will see the area around St Martin’s Square transformed with three new eateries in a new area called Spiceal Street.

Images released by the shopping centre show a sweeping curved roof, along with a proposed water feature.

...
Lawrence Hutchings, Hammerson managing director for UK retail, said: “We have a proven track record in Birmingham with Bullring delivering an exceptional retail focus for the city.

“Spiceal Street will enhance Bullring’s presence in the region and reinforces our long-term involvement and investment in Birmingham.

“We have a strong reputation for bringing new brands to the city and we are confident we can continue this at Spiceal Street.”

It is not known yet which restaurants will take up the space or how many jobs will be created.

The development will sit in front of the former Borders book shop which went into administration in November last year. In April it was reported that television chef Jamie Oliver was planning to open a new restaurant in the vacant retail space.

The exhibition of the plans will be in Central Street Bullring from 10am to 7pm on Thursday and 10am to 6pm on Friday

http://www.birminghammail.net/news/b...7319-27219241/

[KHvillan]

This area can be pretty deserted at night. Maybe a few restuarants will help to rectify this although I expect they'll be a load of chains. I often think that a bar in the Bullring (even a wetherspoons) would be good to add a bit of activity after dark. The only boozer round there is the Bullring tavern which is not the best...

[Elizabeth Kinoke]

looks interesting, but is a weird place to build it IMO. It is a bit empty I suppose, would have rathered a new area to be designated for this really, I still think that Broad Street could be a good choice for a food zone/district with lots of restaurants of all types.

[Erebus555]

I don't know why they seem so intent on keeping the central set of stairs as they make the passageway on the far left hand side of the square redundant. If a new walkway was created on the right handside to connect with the Selfridges entrance there, there would be a calmer area in the central instead of a busy set of stairs that everyone will be using. It would also create a bit more activity around that side of Selfridges which usually looks dead even on a Saturday...

As for this scheme itself, I think it's very sensible and ties in well with the new Jamie Oliver restaurant plan. Whilst I would have liked something like this elsewhere, the fact that the Bullring is the hub of our city centre and is completely lifeless at night is something that isn't very attractive. I can understand therefore why the owners want to turn the Bullring into something that is closer to a 24/7 destination with late night units. Also, the Bullring does need to reinvent itself a little bit now, as the wow factor has worn off. Surfaces started to crack and fade, dirty and become tiresome to look at. A tweak to the Bullring image is great.

With regards to the church being too hemmed in, I agree to a certain extent. There needs to be room to admire it but the current layout is in such a state that the square around it is barren and depressing. A decent landscaping scheme could give it a helping hand although it wouldn't get much sunlight... I think this proposal doesn't infringe much at all on this space and really does enhance it. The proposals still make the church the centrepiece of the complex with all windows overlooking it.

I too will miss the Spiral Cafe from this location but it was never particularly well placed anyway. It will be very interesting to see where they stick it... maybe by the new New Street station to match the curves?