Demolition plan for Birmingham city centre tower block
Developers are hoping to start work demolishing one of the tallest city centre tower blocks in Birmingham in March, planning to replace it with a brand new building.
The 1970s building, 103 Colmore Row, was once occupied by NatWest but has been empty since 2003.
New owners, developer Sterling Property Ventures and its funders Rockspring, bought the central business district's tallest office building from British Land in November.
They are now asking Birmingham Council for permission to demolish the building. The piece-by-piece dismantling of the 22-storey concrete-panelled tower is expected to take between 10 and 12 months.
Its site, in a conservation area on the corner of Colmore Row and Newhall Street, has planning permission for a 35-storey tower. However, Sterling and Rockspring are currently revising these plans. Plans for a smaller scale development, similar in size to the existing structure, are being drawn up.
Sterling and Rockspring want to start on site in March, with the aim of securing permission for the revised design and procuring its build whilst the site is being cleared. They say no permanent road closures will be required: the demolition contractors will work within the constraints of the existing site.
James Howarth, managing director of Sterling Property Ventures, said: "There is an urgent need for the early delivery of a high quality office space in the City Centre Enterprise Zone, given that much of Birmingham's Grade A space has been let and demand from occupiers is increasing.
"103 Colmore Row sits on a prominent site along Birmingham's best business address, yet it has become the poster boy for the city's lack of speculative development. We acquired the site at the end of last year with the intention of being the first new office build to be delivered in Birmingham's central business district since Two Snowhill.
"If we are able to commence demolition work while the new building is designed, approved and contracted, it's entirely feasible that Birmingham will have a new Grade A office tower, comprising more than 200,000 sq ft, by the end of 2017."
Under council rules, Sterling and Rockspring have also submitted plans for the interim landscaping of the site, in case of a delay in starting the new building.
However, Mr Howarth said: "This is very much a Plan B. Our intention is to crack on with this exciting scheme at the very earliest opportunity.
"This development is not contingent upon a pre-let. We have both the funds and the confidence to build speculatively."
A full planning application for the new building, designed by Doone Silver Architects, will be made in April.
