Developers reveal plans for residential conversion of Birmingham office block

DEVELOPERS have wasted little time in revealing their plans for the transformation of a Birmingham city centre office building into a new apartment scheme.

The acquisition of Herbert House by a Hong Kong-based investment firm was announced shortly before Christmas.

Herbert House Investments has now revealed its intentions for the vacant block, which occupies the corner of Cornwall Street and New Market Street in the city’s business district.

The proposals include converting the existing building to accommodate 64 apartments – split between nine studios, 32 one-bed and 23 two-bed units – with a variety of retail units on the ground floor.

In addition, the existing roof will be replaced to support the construction of two additional storeys accommodating a further 13 apartments.

A report prepared by Brooke Smith Planning states: “It is considered that this has successfully achieved a scheme that, provides a viable use and brings life back to a vacant building, in a way that respects the surrounding architecture in terms of design, mass and scale, whilst adding a vibrant mixed use development.”

Planning officers at Birmingham City Council have been notified of the intentions in a pre-application process and they have said the principle of the development is acceptable.

It is proposed to change the use of the existing upper floors (first to fifth) from offices to residential. Floors one to four currently have similar floorplates, while the fifth floor is slightly different, in that a section to the rear of the building does not currently exist. The proposal is to ‘infill’ this section at the fifth floor in order to create comparable floorplates on all levels.

The newly formed sixth and seventh storeys will reflect the general arrangement of the existing floors below, and will create 13 two-bed apartments, including one duplex.

In order to avoid the extension appearing ‘top heavy’, the proposal is to use unobtrusive materials such as aluminum and glazing. This approach has been discussed and agreed with officers during the pre-application dialogue.

The conversion does not include any parking provision due to the building’s location in the heart of the business district, close to Snow Hill railway station and new Metro stop.

However, the proposals do incorporate 46 cycle parking spaces, with all 13 of the new apartments within the extension getting cycle provision. The apartments in the existing building will receive a 50% cycle provision.

The site also sits within a mixed-use area. Within the immediate vicinity are Opus Restaurant, Zen Metro and the Michelin-starred Purnells, each with office or residential use on their upper floors. Consent has also recently been granted for student accommodation at a nearby site (89-91 Cornwall Street).

The planning statement concludes: “The momentum of the proposed development reflects a desire of Herbert House Investments to breathe new life into this city centre property in a way that will provide a high quality accommodation offer and modern retail units, to ensure the long term use of the building.”