Tower cranes arrive on site for next phase of Paradise Birmingham

The second building at Paradise, Two Chamberlain Square, is currently having a pair of tower cranes installed on site to help it towards completion in 2019. It is an eight storey, 183,000 sq ft building that will have restaurant, bar and retail spaces at ground level and aims to offer a 'stunning' workplace location when it is completed later in 2019.

It will complete the first phase of Paradise Birmingham that also includes the 172,000 sq ft One Chamberlain Square that is fully let to international professional services firm PwC and is due for hand-over to the firm next year.

BAM Construction is undertaking the construction of Two Chamberlain Square and will oversee a team of over 200 construction workers. The two basement levels have already been created as part of the site enabling works and therefore the full frame of the new building will quickly become visible once the tower cranes are in place.

BAM has also taken over completion of One Chamberlain Square after work was brought to a halt by the collapse of Wolverhampton-based contractor Carillion.

Tower Crane 4, which can already be seen towering over the city centre, is one of the largest operating in Birmingham at 80 metres (260ft) in height, equivalent to 20 double-decker buses, and with ballast weight of 32 tonnes – the equivalent of six and a half fully grown African bush elephants. Tower Crane 3 will be smaller at 50 metres (164ft) in height, or the equivalent of 12 double decker buses, with a ballast of 26 tonnes, or five African bush elephants. It is due to be installed over the coming week.

Overlooking the Grade 1 listed Town Hall, Victorian Council House and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Two Chamberlain Square sits at the heart of Paradise with direct access from the newly improved Chamberlain Square and surrounding public area.

Designed by Birmingham-based Glenn Howells Architects, Two Chamberlain Square features large open floorplates of approximately 24,000 sq ft as well as 16,000 sq ft of retail space at ground level. It also features a panoramic terrace on the sixth floor giving astounding views across to the Grade II listed Museum & Art Gallery and Council House and the Grade I listed Town Hall.

Rob Groves, regional director of Argent, development managers for Paradise, said: “The arrival of the two new tower cranes demonstrates in a very obvious way the gathering momentum around Paradise Birmingham. This is another major milestone as we move into an exciting phase of work over the next year. As well as the practical completion of our first two buildings, next year will see more of the public realm revealed for the benefit of everyone who lives in or visits the city.

Rod Stiles, regional director for BAM Construction in the Midlands, said: “We are already working hard to deliver Two Chamberlain Square and the two new tower cranes will enable us to accelerate construction over the next eighteen months. This is a superb building in an exemplary scheme helping to transform the heart of Birmingham with a range of new facilities including retail and leisure as well as top-class office space.”

At 1.8 million square feet, Paradise Birmingham will deliver up to ten new flagship buildings, offering offices, shops, bars, cafés, restaurants and a four star hotel across 17 acres in the heart of Birmingham.

The Paradise redevelopment is being brought forward through Paradise Circus Limited Partnership (PCLP), a private-public joint venture with Birmingham City Council. The private sector funding is being managed by Hermes Investment Management which has partnered with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) on the first phase of the development. Argent is the development manager.

Paradise Birmingham sits in the country’s largest city centre Enterprise Zone and has already benefited from investment by the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) in enabling and infrastructure works.

A website showcasing the vision for Paradise, in addition to a live time-lapse camera, can be viewed at www.paradisebirmingham.co.uk.