Construction ‘at the heart of city’s transformation’

Nick Button, senior partner in commercial property at Band Hatton Button

By Nick Button, senior partner in commercial property at Band Hatton Button

Anyone who is taken on a tour of Coventry at the moment is likely to get a sense that this is a city that is on the up.

I’ve worked in the area for more than 30 years, and there has never been a time like there is now where there is such a plethora of activity going on to make Coventry one of the leading cities in the UK.

Construction has been, and will continue to be, at the heart of the city’s transformation.

The number of students coming into the city has divided opinion, driven by the number of buildings going up in the city to accommodate them, but the fact that we have an extra 50,000 people living and spending money in or around our city should be celebrated, and will enable Coventry to develop both financially and culturally.

We’ve recently seen Cathedral Lanes Shopping Centre transformed into a modern court made up of some prestigious, high-end names which encourages more people to come into the city centre for longer.

The work scheduled for the city centre’s Upper Precinct – which involves the removal of the escalator up to West Orchards Shopping Centre – should also create a fantastic view of the Cathedral from the heart of the city centre.

We also have two state-of-the-art swimming complexes to look forward to using – The Wave in the city centre, as well as the Olympic-sized swimming pool at the Alan Higgs Centre.

A CGI of the front of the Co-operative building

It’s also encouraging to see existing buildings that are important to the city’s heritage – such as the old Co-Op building – being transformed into high-end apartments – demonstrating that the centre of Coventry isn’t just a city for students, but a desirable location for other generations and demographics too.

The news that 5G internet will be rolled out across the city centre over the next few years is another game-changer for Coventry long-term – to have this sort of technology capable of controlling driverless cars and impacting on so many other industries is really exciting.

When piecing all of these projects together it quickly becomes apparent that Coventry is a place for other cities to look up to, and is preparing to grasp its moment when the spotlight is shone on the city in 2021 when it becomes UK City of Culture.

Just like the city of Coventry, Band Hatton Button is ready for another year of significant development in 2019, which we look forward to sharing further news on in the New Year.

Close