Work under way on £30m redevelopment of former Wragges HQ

DEVELOPER IM Properties has started redevelopment work on its 55 Colmore Row building in Birmingham’s business district.

The speculative redevelopment will deliver 160,000 sq ft of Grade A office space.

55 Colmore Row was the home of law firm Wragge & Co, as it was then, before it relocated to Two Snowhill.

The extensive development programme of works will complete in autumn 2016, providing office space over six floors.

The building’s historic, listed 19th Century banking hall will form a central part of the redevelopment and will be fully restored and reconfigured as a reception.

John Hammond, investment director at Coleshill-based IM Properties, said: “Our aim is to create an entirely unique proposition within the Birmingham property market, creating a sense of contemporary quality, from the specification of the floorplates and sense of arrival, right down to the internal finishes.

“55 Colmore Row has a significant heritage that sets it apart from other office buildings in the area. The reintroduction of the banking hall as a key element of the building will create a striking and entirely unique feature.”

IM Properties has committed to a programme of works which includes the development of three new floors to the top of the building.

Floor plates will range from 18,000 sq ft – 24,000 sq ft.

The whole rear elevation on Barwick Street will also be removed and replaced with a full height glazed façade, with space for two restaurants at street level.  
Joint agents appointed on the scheme are CBRE and Savills.

Will Ventham of CBRE said: “The letting strategy for 55 Colmore Row is about more than the national and local occupiers. We want to target the large international companies considering relocation to the UK, particularly as the South East market continues to overheat.”