Plans approved for Wolverhampton’s i9 office development

Plans have been approved for the new i9 office development in Wolverhampton, a scheme which forms a crucial part of the city’s regeneration.

Developer Ion’s building on Railway Drive has emerged as a scheme following the success of the i10 complex on the opposite side of the road, which was fully let within nine months of its doors opening.

Ion says i9 will provide 50,000 sq ft of Grade A office space “for a national or regional headquarters for a major business” when completed in 2020.

City of Wolverhampton Council and Ion selected Glenn Howells Architects’ design for i9 as the winner from a field of ten architects and urban design practices.

They are the architects behind the Paradise Birmingham scheme – one of the biggest city centre development projects in the UK.

Cllr John Reynolds, Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: “Since i10 was completed we have seen increasing demand for quality office space in that location of the city, particularly from large space users.

“i9 was always envisaged to satisfy that demand, and it is great news that official planning approval has now been granted.

“We want this building to become the design and quality benchmark for future developments in the city and to demonstrate our ambition for the city centre.

“This important site ideally lends itself to a distinctive, high-quality headquarters building.”

Fraser Godfrey, senior architect from Glenn Howells Architects, added: “The i9 building is situated at an important gateway site within Wolverhampton City Centre and offers the opportunity to define a benchmark for the future regeneration of this part of the city. The design has been developed to be sensitive to neighbouring landmarks such as the Chubb Buildings and through considered detailing and the use of high quality materials, it will become a contemporary addition to Wolverhampton’s historic family of red-brick Victorian buildings. It is set to house restaurants and a business lounge on the ground floor of the building as well as a rooftop amenity space, with panoramic views towards the city centre conservation area and Interchange.”

Steve Parry, managing director of Ion, said: “The development of i9 will offer a new state of the art, Grade A office building for Wolverhampton. The i10 development has already proven that we can attract new occupiers to Wolverhampton and the state-of-the-art transport links of the Interchange will be a major attraction for those new occupiers.”