IN PICTURES: Birmingham's Grand Central unveiled: Inside the £150m shopping centre
Thousands of people milling around a shopping complex that rivals the best London has to offer, while light pours in through a huge glass ceiling – this is the scene that will greet visitors to Birmingham later today.
The £600 million transformation of New Street Station was unveiled at the weekend – and now shoppers can flock to Grand Central and its sprawling John Lewis store.
Some 50 million of them are expected in the first year alone, as the city heads into a new era.
For years visitors to Birmingham have been confronted by the dark concrete expanse of the old station, heading up escalators only to face a walk through the dated Pallasades centre. But bosses hope the £150m Grand Central and the new station will leave people from across the country with a positive impression that will keep them coming back.
New Street was originally known as Grand Central when it opened in 1854 and the new shopping complex is spread across four floors and 250,000 sqft.
John Lewis alone will have £30 million of stock ranging from fashion and homeware to technology.
When the long-awaited plans for New Street finally got off the ground, civic leaders wanted to make sure they did not waste the opportunity to transform the city.
So they decided to make it much more than just a train station and instead create a shopping destination in its own right.
John Lewis – one of the biggest in the country – may be the 'anchor' store that towers over the station, but there is plenty more to explore.
More than 60 shops and restaurants are spread across the 500,000 sqft site, ranging from Italian eaterie Carluccio's to Costa Coffee and Nando's.
And many are new arrivals moving to the city for the first time – including Gobstoppers sweet shop and wine bar Frizzenti.
Grand Central has been designed to be easy to access for people who have just stepped off a train, while also attracting shoppers from other parts of the city.
Building work began in August 2013 and within weeks the Pallasades started to disappear and Grand Central began to take shape.
The 30,000 sqft atrium was made from the same material as Cornwall's Eden Project and ensures the dark days of the old New Street Station are long gone.
Tonnes of concrete was removed from the structure and replaced with glass, to bathe the concourse and shops in light throughout the day.
The John Lewis logo and futuristic glass panelling can be seen on the horizon from the other side of the city centre, while three 'media eyes' spanning up to 98ft (29.9m) in length and 23ft (7m) in height display advertising above the station's three main entrances.
And the giant screens will even use state-of-the-art technology to tailor adverts to whoever is in the vicinity at the time.
They will pick up people's 'general characteristics' including their gender and rough age.
[breakout title="Shoppers and jobs: Complex in numbers" align="right"]
- 50 million shoppers are expected to flock to spend their money at Grand Central each year.
- £35 million the cost of building the John Lewis store alone
- 500 ,000 sq ft the total size of the entire Grand Central complex
- 250 ,000 sq ft John Lewis store is half the total complex size
- 350 ,000 products are on offer at shops in Grand Central including fashion, jewellery, furniture, homewares, beauty, technology
- £30 million worth of stock was stacked into John Lewis at the weekend
- 1,000 jobs across the stores have been created
- 1,000 workers were on site, 24 hours a day, seven days a week increasing to 3,500 in the final months of the project.
- 6,800 cubic metres of concrete the equivalent volume of three Olympic swimming pool was used to build John Lewis
- 2,900 tons of structural steel the weight of over six Pendolino trains was also used
- 6,000 tons of concrete was removed by a giant purpose-built demolition machine, called the Mega Muncher, to create space for the atrium
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It comes as the city prepares to welcome thousands of rugby fans when South Africa play Samoa at Villa Park on Saturday, followed by Australia vs Uruguay on Sunday.
City council leader Sir Albert Bore has hailed the opening of Grand Central as one of the most important moments in Birmingham's recent history, and says it will give a massive boost to the local economy. He said: "The station redevelopment has been a key project for the city, stimulating economic growth and regeneration and, with the added creation of Grand Central it has provided one of the best-connected retail spaces in the country.
"This is sure to have a catalytic effect on further regeneration of the city centre and attracting businesses to Birmingham.
"This is an exciting time and shows that Birmingham has a lot to look forward to.
"The redevelopment of Grand Central has been a key project for the city, stimulating economic growth, creating over 1,000 jobs and acting as a catalyst for regeneration in the surrounding area. With its central location in the heart of the city it will be a key element of Birmingham's ever improving retail and architectural landscape."
John Lewis bosses say a bright future beckons for Birmingham – and they wanted to be part of it. Andy Street, managing director of John Lewis and chairman of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership, said Grand Central and the new station would create a complete city centre again.
He said: "The completion of New Street and the opening of Grand Central, including the new John Lewis couldn't come at a better time for Birmingham with employment, foreign investment, exports and visitor numbers all on the up in the area.
"One of the negatives of the previous station – aside from the appalling first impression it gave to millions of visitors to our city, was that New Street effectively divided the city centre.
"The area known as Southside was not accessible from the busy main shopping and business areas, unless you were prepared to go around the station.
"But the new design changes all that with the main entrance actually opening on to Southside, this part of the city is now easily accessible and you can already see the benefits as investment is starting to flow to it. Now that the station and Grand Central are complete, people's perceptions and experience of the city will be transformed, while the wider project will be an economic force not just for the site but for Birmingham and the West Midlands as a whole."
Grand Central development director Richard Brown said: "Being situated above the magnificent station will offer a unique and unforgettable shopping experience for all.
"We are proud that Birmingham is at the forefront of such an impressive aesthetic design which will be enjoyed and admired by people across the UK and worldwide."
Jonathan Cheetham, centre manager for Grand Central, added: "Thursday will be a proud day for Birmingham and will demonstrate our cities' continued retail power to bring high quality shops and restaurants to Birmingham shoppers. Grand Central really does have something for everyone and we can't wait to show it off."
Business chiefs say the impact of the new development will be felt for years to come, and should be seen as the start of a new era rather than a one-off.
Paul Faulkner, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: "The transformation will mark a sea-change for everyone who uses this important gateway to Birmingham. The new-look station will greatly enhance the experience for business people, commuters, shoppers and tourists."
And Martin Guest, managing director of the Birmingham office of global property consultants CBRE, said the recent investment in the city, particularly from retailers, was 'unprecedented'.
He added: "We fully expect £1 billion of commercial property to change hands by the end of 2015, a level never before seen in the city.
"This follows on from major institutions including Deutsche Bank, HS2 and HSBC committing to offices here. Once the wraps are off the station, this flagship asset will further cement Birmingham's place on investor shopping lists."
