Colmore Gate retrofit moves forward with scaled-back plans

Revised plans for the retrofit of Colmore Gate have been approved, following the rejection of earlier proposals to refurbish and extend the building.

Ashtrom Properties now has the green light to update the ground floor façade along Colmore Row and Bull Street and construct a small rear extension to the building, limited to level 1.

The initial proposal aimed to transform the site into 510,000 sq ft of Grade A space, featuring a 26-storey tower and a 10-storey shoulder building. However, the council rejected these plans last February after Historic England raised concerns about the scale and aesthetic impact of the development.

Suggestions to lower the tower height and better integrate the design with the surrounding area proved unfeasible due to viability issues.

Currently, Colmore Gate offers 171,834 sq ft of office and retail space across a 17-storey tower and an 8-storey wing designed by the Seymour Harris Partnership, along with 86 basement car parking spaces.

In updated design plans by BuckleyGrayYeoman (BGY), the project aims to address the disconnect between the building’s ground floor shopfronts and its overall design. The plans include creating a more cohesive façade, improving the pedestrian passage between Bull Street and Colmore Row, and adding a rear infill extension at level 1.

Tom Edgerley, Astrom’s director of development said on LinkedIn: “This ambitious project will breathe new life into an iconic piece of the city’s architectural fabric, blending modern design with a respect for its historical context.

“The upper level of the Great Western Arcade will transformed into boutique office studios, adding to the existing retail landscape below and injecting a fresh vitality into the surroundings.

“The interconnectivity between these three buildings will be strengthened, facilitated by direct internal links”.

Ashtrom says it’s committed to minimising the carbon impact and reducing waste in construction and it aspires to retain the granite panelling that has been removed from the upper section of the existing ground floor facade so that it can be reused as aggregate for internal finishes to a future reception refurbishment.