Tech space set for a boost as council prepares to approve iCentrum
THE latest expansion of Innovation Birmingham Campus is set for approval by Birmingham City councillors.
The city’s planning committee is expected to give its consent for the iCentrum building when it meets on Thursday (September 18).
The scheme is in effect an extension of the existing campus, situated in Holt Street, next to Aston University.
Funding for the scheme is in place and once consent is granted then work on the new facility should start within weeks.
The plan is to get the 44,000 sq ft building, which will improve the centre’s tech incubation facilities, open before the end of 2015.
Innovation Birmingham, formerly Birmingham Science Park Aston, is hopeful the new businesses using iCentrum will create 400 high-value skilled tech jobs, generating upwards of £25m of gross added value (GVA) to the local economy per annum.
The building will be the first to start on site within the Greater Birmingham & Solihull LEP’s Enterprise Zone, which features 26 sites within central Birmingham.
The Innovation Birmingham Campus is wholly owned by Birmingham City Council. A commercial loan for the £7.5m construction and fit-out costs for the new building has been secured from the local authority.
The building will be constructed by Stourport-on-Severn-based Thomas Vale Construction, part of Bouygues Construction, following a competitive tender.
Dr David Hardman, CEO of Innovation Birmingham said he was hopeful consent would be forthcoming.
“We have a waiting list for space at the Innovation Birmingham Campus, and this new state-of-the-art incubation facility – which will be located next to our landmark Faraday Wharf building – will drive a new generation of tech business for the city,” he said.
“In order to pave the way for new development activity, we have recently invested heavily in our communications infrastructure to enable future occupiers to benefit from broadband speeds of 30Gbit/s, equalling the fastest internet connection available anywhere in the UK.
“Everything is in place to ensure this will be the first Birmingham Enterprise Zone scheme to start on site and open for occupation.”
The top floor of iCentrum will feature a range of self-contained, flexible office space. The first floor will be home to Innovation Birmingham’s Serendip incubator, which is aimed at delivering the growth outlined in Birmingham’s Smart City agenda.
The key sectors Serendip will support are; ICT/ Digital Gaming; Built Environment, including Low Carbon, the Green Technologies and Mobility; Digital MedTech; and Digital Media.
The ground floor and mezzanine level of iCentrum will be general meeting space.
The iCentrum development represents a key stage in the growth of the campus. Three to five new buildings are proposed in total, delivering 120,000 sq ft of purpose-designed space for Birmingham’s tech community.
The latter phases of the expansion are anticipated to attract larger tech companies and house additional innovation functions.
