Morgan Sindall gets the nod on 55 Colmore Row redevelopment

IM Properties has appointed Morgan Sindall to redevelop the £30m 55 Colmore Row office building in Birmingham.

Rugby-based Morgan Sindall has been brought in as the main contractor on the project to redevelop the former headquarters of Birmingham law firm Wragge & Co – as it was for most of the time it occupied the building.

Situated on the corner of Colmore Row and Church Street, 55 Colmore Row has a Grade II listed Victorian terrace façade overlooking St Philip’s Cathedral.

When completed, the redevelopment will deliver 160,000 sq ft of flexible and contemporary Grade A offices.

Three new floors will be delivered to the top of the building, offering panoramic views across the cathedral grounds and the city, with all internal layouts fully reconfigured to create open plan office space on floor plates ranging from 18,000 sq ft to 24,000 sq ft.

The Grade II listed 19th Century banking hall will be transformed into a new reception.

John Hammond, Investment Director, IM Properties, said: “This is a project that will breathe new life into one of the most prominent and widely-recognised commercial buildings in Birmingham.  

“55 Colmore Row is a cornerstone in Birmingham’s commercial history and this project requires construction and project management teams of significant confidence and capability. We feel absolutely certain that Morgan Sindall will deliver the high quality rejuvenation of this landmark building.

“55 Colmore Row will offer an inviting and desirable business address suitable for occupiers from a broad range of sectors and will act as a prize for inward investors seeking space within the city.”

Alongside the addition of new floors and the redevelopment of the internal spaces, the whole rear elevation on Barwick Street will be removed and replaced with a full height glazed façade with space for two restaurants at street level.  

Dave Smith, managing director of construction at Morgan Sindall, said: “Anyone who has worked in or around Birmingham will be aware of 55 Colmore Row. They may be less familiar, however, with the volume of work that will need to be undertaken to give the building a new lease of life.

“The complexity of adding new floors to the top of the building, combined with the timescale in which we are working means that there is significant planning required to ensure we deliver.”

IM Properties has appointed a full team to deliver the redeveloped 55 Colmore Row including AHR Architects, DBK as quantity surveyor and CDM co-ordinator, Projex Building Solutions as project manager and employers’ agent, structural engineer Copeland Wedge Associates, and Watkins Payne Partnership as M&E engineer.

The works programme is due to be completed in autumn 2016.

Joint letting agents for 55 Colmore Row are CBRE and Savills.