Student scheme replaces ambitious 40-storey Eastside tower

Curzon Tower had been designed to be 40 storeys

Hopes for a 40-storey tower in Birmingham’s Eastside have been dashed after developers submitted plans for a more modest student accommodation scheme.

Curzon Tower had been sketched out as a 250,000 sq ft building to include a hotel over eight floors and 29 floors of residential.

However Reuben & Morgan is now seeking approval for a 381-bed student scheme at Curzon Circus, with a 15-storey tower and six-storey building.

The site is very close to the proposed HS2 line on the approach to Curzon Street Station.

Separately, plans for a large mixed use scheme have also been submitted by Birmingham City University on land nearby that has been earmarked for the HS2 station at Curzon Street.

Reuben & Morgan’s planned Curzon Circus student development

The application is seeking a certificate of appropriate alternative development – a legal requirement in order to claim compensation for the site, which has been acquired by HS2.

It sets out what could be built on the land if HS2 was not going ahead.

The application, submitted today, includes designs for nearly 860,000 sq ft of space, made up of 680,000 sq ft of student accommodation, 160,000 sq ft of offices and 15,000 sq ft of retail.