£36m residential scheme gets green light

A multi-million pound redevelopment which will transform a Midlands landmark office building into a scheme of apartments has been revealed by Urban Village Group.

The company has gained planning consent from Birmingham City Council to convert the 12-storey Equipoint building into 247 apartments available for a mixture of open market sale and private rented sector (PRS) units.

Work on the first phase of the £36m development – involving converting office suites into 247 apartments – is expected to get underway this month.

Equipoint was previously a major office building located just off the A45 Coventry Road in Yardley, Birmingham.

Birmingham-based Urban Village Group is an investment and development business with a multi-million pound portfolio of developments across the UK, led by chief executive Nick Sellman.

Equipoint will include a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments, with large on-site parking and a range of communal facilities, many of which will be let to the city’s key workers.

Sellman said: “We are enormously excited at the prospect of transforming one of our home city’s major landmark office buildings into a fantastic development providing high quality homes for hundreds of people.

“Work is about to get underway on the first phase. Later phases will deliver a total of 247 apartments under the existing planning consent, and we hope to eventually create 400 new homes in this magnificent building. The scale of this development clearly illustrates our ambitions to become a major force in the PRS sector.”

He added: “Equipoint is in a fantastic location for commuting into the city centre and sits just a short distance from major transport hubs including Birmingham International airport and train station, as well as the proposed new HS2 hub.

“It will be very popular with people working in the city and those that need to travel to London or further afield by train, plane or car. Show apartments will be available to view in June next year and we expect to reach practical completion in March 2021.”