Construction on tallest tower starts after £200m deal
WORK on what will be one of Birmingham’s tallest buildings will start this month after a £200 million funding deal was agreed to support the project.
City-based developer Court Collaboration has struck a partnership with Pension Insurance Corporation to deliver the One Eastside scheme which will sit on the doorstep of the new HS2 station in Curzon Street.
The project will be constructed at the corner of Jennens Road and James Watt Queensway and comprise two buildings of 16 and 51 storeys respectively and a third pavilion building.
They will contain 667 apartments to rent, residential gardens and courtyards, a gym, cinema, and sky lounge on the 51st floor.
At 525 feet, the larger of the two towers would surpass the BT Tower in the Jewellery Quarter as Birmingham’s current tallest structure.
It is the first scheme by a new joint venture of Court Collaboration and the family office of renowned West Midlands developer Sir Tony Gallagher and construction is due to take around four years to complete.
One Eastside will create over 300 new jobs, with plans to establish an academy to provide opportunities for hundreds of local students including work placements and onsite course opportunities and experience.
The development site was previously occupied by the CEAC teaching building but this was acquired from Birmingham Metropolitan College in autumn 2018 and subsequently demolished.
One Eastside has since overcome various hurdles to reach this stage after objections were lodged by the owners of another apartment block on the Exchange Square site directly opposite before it finally received the green light 18 months ago.
Court Collaboration founder and chief executive Anthony McCourt said: “This £200 million investment by Pension Insurance Corporation confirms that confidence in the build-to-rent sector continues to grow in Birmingham.
“This deal is another huge vote of confidence both in us and Birmingham which is riding high on the back of the ‘Be Bold’ achievement of the Commonwealth Games.
“Birmingham moving forward can’t and won’t be stopped and the project team deserve real credit.
“They have realised this ambition and Court Collaboration hopes this is the start of a wave of skyscrapers living in our brilliant city.”
Pension Insurance Corporation is a London-based specialist insurer of defined benefit pension funds.
Head of build to rent Delphine Deasy added: “We are a significant and purposeful investor in the UK’s infrastructure and housing and I am delighted that we have now acquired our fourth build-to-rent project. The development will have a positive effect on the local economy, including creating hundreds of new job opportunities and supporting the training of local students.
“At the same time, it will provide long-term, secure cash flows back to our policyholders’ pension payments in the decades ahead.”
Advisers on the deal were Addleshaw Goddard, CBRE, HAALO, Pinsent Masons, Savills and WSP.