L&G to turn Birmingham’s House of Fraser into offices
Legal & General will turn the former Rackhams buildings, which were once home to House of Fraser, into new office space in Birmingham’s city centre.
The buildings are located between Temple Row and Corporation Street.
Proposals for the redevelopment are being prepared for submission to Birmingham City Council before the end of the year.
Legal & General will turn the former Rackhams buildings, which were once home to House of Fraser, into new office space in Birmingham’s city centre.
The buildings are located between Temple Row and Corporation Street.
Proposals for the redevelopment are being prepared for submission to Birmingham City Council before the end of the year.
L&G will seek to deliver more than 365,000 sq ft of office space over nine floors, nearly 60,000 sq ft of retail and leisure and a boutique hotel of more than 75,000 sq ft on the corner of Cherry Street and Temple Row. There will be more than 33,000 sq ft of restaurants, cafés and bars, with communal space, a large atrium and external terraces.
Simon Wilkes, of LGIM Real Assets, said: “In addition to providing a most welcome increase in the availability of Grade A office space to help meet growing demand in the city, these proposals will create a new cluster of attractive food, drink, retail and leisure facilities right in the city’s core.
“Rackhams is one of the best-situated buildings in Birmingham and we are very confident that its transformation with updated design and facilities, innovative range of uses and quality of materials will quickly attract new occupants, eager to benefit from the great potential of this wonderful space.”
L&G has owned the site since 2014. It has held discussions about refurbishment of the store since the company’s CVA and Mike Ashley’s acquisition, which allowed House of Fraser to continue operating on a short-term basis.
The development has been designed by T P Bennett, the original architect for the building.
Demand for office space in the city centre has surged with limited availability. In 2017, Birmingham topped 1m sq ft in office take-up. Savills estimates that 2018 demand won’t match this, but will hit 800,000 sq ft, with prime grade-A office supply at just 153,000 sq ft, pushing top rents up to £33 per sq ft and prime yields to 4.75%.
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