Official Birmingham Development Thread 36!

[-Stiggy-]

They do deliver schemes, just very slowly. That mansfield business park has been phased over quite some time as pre-lets have come along. Last application was for something in January but I can't remember what it was for, nothing major though.

Just saying that they do indeed build, but they take their time.

My bet is they lost the serviced apartments operator (if they did actually have one).

[Erebus555]

Regal Tower is their biggest project yet and very different to what they've done before. When it was approved, their agent (DTZ I think) said that this was not a speculative scheme as a hotel operator had been found. There was some mention of a serviced apartment operator being signed on as well but that was from the public consultation so not official at all. There were some like 250+ planned serviced apartments and I think 6 penthouse apartments, which ultimately made up half the scheme.

I am confident that they intended/ intend to build it but I fear they may be a little out of their depth. After all, at £200 million to build, it needs substantial collateral to secure a loan from the bank and I'm not sure if the developer has that collateral. The only scheme I can think of by them in Birmingham is the Bishopsgate Street Synagogue, built to replace the one on the Regal Tower site, and that was only a handful of apartments...

Remember, MIPIM is an event where cities attempt to raise their profile to potential investors. Deals generally aren't signed there and then but city's try to show that they've got it going on. Unveiling schemes like Beorma Quarter and Regal are symbols of private sector confidence in the city, which is what new investors want to see. That's why it's so hard to quantify what new investment has come into the city as a result of MIPIM.

[joshwebb]

Well I hope this year at mipim we get the paradise circus, fire station redevelopment and maybe a little surprise

[Sandblast]

You know something we don't, eh Joshy?!

[joshwebb]

Haha no lol ijust wishful thinking

[ReissOmari]

Looks at the Ronald McDonald House in Manchester

Then Brum, very similar

image hosted on flickr

[fruit&nut]

Following the trend there, one is a square box the other is nice and curvy.

[woodhousen]

not to start anything and i know im bias, but i prefer the birmingham one lol

[Erebus555]

The cladding on the Manchester one is a bit overpowering for me. The Birmingham one is on a slightly awkward site as well which made for a more interesting building. The canopies at the top of the Manchester one don't do it any favours, in my opinion.

[SuttonBluenose]

I prefer ours, the shape of the site as Erebus is the main player making it interesting

[ReissOmari]

Center City now has scaffoding up up around the base...

[sefton66]

I think brunmyboy mentioned that last week, probably for a clean before the app goes in for the entrance works

[Brum X]

Originally Posted by sefton66

I think brunmyboy mentioned that last week, probably for a clean before the app goes in for the entrance works

Hopefully the rest of the tower will be cleaned.

[sefton66]

that's what I meant brumx probably cleaning the whole tower

[Sandblast]

Originally Posted by woodhousen

not to start anything and i know im bias, but i prefer the birmingham one lol

Me too!

[sefton66]

Not sure what building this is

Capital Trust Group Buys Commercial Real Estate for $100 million

Dubai, Tuesday, February 21, 2012: The Gulf office of Capital Trust Group (CTG), based in Dubai, announced today the acquisition of commercial real estate of about $100 million in value spread among four city-centre locations in the United Kingdom.

While the Group continues its search for investment properties in the UAE, it has acquired four office buildings in Leeds, Cardiff, Southampton and Birmingham. All properties are single-let to grade A tenants with leases ranging from 11 to 15 years.

The Group Chairman, Bassam Aburdene, commented that "UK real estate continues to be an important part of our clients' portfolios, mainly for the security and predictability of its income stream and the liquidity which makes the acquisition and disposal process straight-forward and investor friendly".

George Shweiry, Managing Director for Europe and the Middle East, added: "In the face of continued economic uncertainty, we have focused on prime locations in regional UK cities outside London where rents are 75% lower. It is these attractive rental levels, combined with the quality of services and availability of a qualified workforce, that is increasingly driving the demand from prospective tenants".

CTG's Gulf Office also announced that there is a serious demand from investors on Dubai real estate market, especially income-generating real estate, which led to significant increases in the value of assets and rents.

Capital Trust, which is headquartered in London, with offices in Dubai, Beirut and Washington, has been active in real estate markets since 1985.

http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20120221095016

[sefton66]

Another letting

SF Group signs for Gas Street space
21 February 2012 | By Patrick Gower

Recruitment consultancy SF Group has signed a 10 year lease for 2,322 sq ft of offices at Cube Real Estate’s 22 Gas Street in Birmingham.

http://www.propertyweek.com/news/new...032344.article

[sefton66]

Centre City Tower in scaffold..
image hosted on flickr

IMG_0690 by sefton 66, on Flickr

[Sandblast]

Good news ... this will look great after a clean up!

Thanks sefton ... you are doing a great job at the minute.

[Myster E]

A clean up will do Centre City Tower many wonders, now it only looks good during the evening when lit up. Without a doubt about one of my favorite post war highrises.