£7m Legoland centre handed over to operators for fit-out
Builders have handed over the shell of a new £7m Legoland Discovery Centre at Arena Birmingham to Merlin Entertainments, owner of the Legoland brand, ready for fit-out.
The Alton Towers owner is planning to open the new facility in time for the 2018 school summer holidays.
Merlin Entertainment secured planning permission for the 5,470m² centre last year.
The facility will be the second of its kind in the UK after a similar venue in Manchester. It is not a theme park in the same way that Legoland in Windsor is but it will feature 10 themed Lego playzones, a build and test area, two themed rides and a 4D cinema. There will also be a a small café and associated retail.
It will have more than three million Lego bricks, with 421,000 being used to create a Miniland packed with local landmarks.
Projex Building Solutions, which was founded in 2008 and now employs nearly 50 people across its three offices in Solihull, Leeds and London, has provided project management, employer’s agent, cost consultancy/QS and building consultancy services on the building project.
The new attraction is expected to do much to enhance the city’s tourism offer and make the arena even more of a key visitor destination.
It is likely to employ around 40-50 people, with approximately a quarter being part-time positions. Temporary seasonal staff are also likely to be required.
The discovery centre will be split over three floors within the arena. It has utilised spare capacity at the arena by occupying part of the basement car park, while above this and adjacent to the canal, a redundant service deck is being converted to create ancillary office and staff space.
To accommodate the main attraction area within the basement, 140 parking spaces have been removed from the arena’s overall parking provision of 1,995 spaces.
