Golden bolt marks topping out of Three Snowhill office scheme in Birmingham
Three Snowhill, the UK's largest speculative city centre office scheme outside London, has topped out.
To mark the milestone as the last piece of the structure was put in place, Matt Alcock, a trainee partitioning operative working at the site in Birmingham, inserted a golden bolt into a steel girder at the highest point of the building.
He was joined by Councillor Ian Ward, leader of Birmingham City Council, and Waheed Nazir, corporate director for economy at the council.
Three Snowhill is being developed by M&G Real Estate and Ballymore.
The 420,000 sq ft 17-storey development is now less than one year away from completion and will be the only new top quality office space delivered in Birmingham in the first half of 2019.
Mr Ward said: “The Birmingham skyline is going through a dramatic change. The city is humming with the noise of regeneration. Looking at the number of major development projects it is clear the city is undergoing a massive transformation and Three Snowhill embodies Birmingham’s growing confidence.
“The whole Snowhill estate is part of a new Birmingham and the topping out of Three Snowhill represents more than simply a landmark moment for a fantastic new building, it also typifies a confident and ambitious Birmingham; a city that is quite literally on the up.”
Three Snowhill is being built by BAM Construction, which employs more than 200 people at the site. Twenty seven new jobs have been created – a mix of formerly unemployed candidates and new trainees/apprentices.
Matt Alcock, from Moseley, works for Lakeside Ceilings & Partitions, a BAM subcontractor. Previously unemployed, he is currently undertaking a Finishes and Interiors Sector (FIS) course, which will be followed by a two year apprenticeship.
Rod Stiles, Midlands regional director at BAM, said: “BAM is proud to be part of delivering the largest speculative development in the UK outside of London and equally pleased with that we have helped to create new employment opportunities for 27 people.”
Three Snowhill is the third and final building on the four-acre Snowhill estate.
Richard Probert, project director at Three Snowhill, has worked on the estate since 2003. He said: “When Three Snowhill completes we will have transformed a long derelict site at the gateway to the city centre, enabled the Metro city centre extension with the viaduct across the site and delivered nearly 1m sq ft of prime office space set in more than three acres of public realm. It will be great to finally see the finished product next year.”
Aaron Pope, director and asset manager at M&G Real Estate, added: “Our investment in Three Snowhill is a sign of our confidence in Birmingham. The arrival of HS2 will further boost the £110 billion regional economy, and support further inward investment and job creation.
“We ensure our offices are best-in-class in a demanding and ever-changing market. Promoting staff wellbeing is vital in the modern workplace, and the large open floorplates flooded with natural light will make this an office where people want to be. By matching this excellence in design to the latest digital infrastructure, we can help to boost staff productivity in a happy, healthy workplace.”
JLL and Savills are joint letting agents at Three Snowhill.
