Birmingham New Street shopping centre revamp to start
A major revamp of a shopping centre as part of the £600 million Birmingham New Street development will start at the end of this month.
The majority of shops within The Pallasades shopping centre, situated over the railway station, will close before the end of July as work to transform it into Grand Central Birmingham gets under way.
Grand Central will be home to a 250,000 sq ft John Lewis shop, the largest outside London, along with over 40 new 'premium' shops and more than 20 new cafes and restaurants.
It is also expected to create up to 1,000 new jobs for local people, with other training opportunities available. Sir Albert Bore, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: "Grand Central Birmingham is a key element of the redevelopment and vital for stimulating wider economic and regeneration benefits for our city.
"Up to 1,000 new jobs and many training opportunities have been committed for local people to become a part of this exciting new development."
The famous Pallasades name will cease to exist when Grand Central and John Lewis fully open, expected to be in the autumn of next year.
Most of the shops, restaurants and cafes due to open at Grand Central will be new to Birmingham. While development is taking place, commuters and shoppers will still be able to walk through the centre between New Street, the railway station and the Bullring, with Tesco and retailers on the ramp up to the centre also remaining open.
The team at The Pallasades and Birmingham City Council are working with those retailers that are closing to help find alternate premises in the city.
The development is part of the wider project to transform Birmingham New Street station.
The first half of the new concourse opened to passengers in April.
