Arena Central kicks off with hotel scheme
THE Arena Central regeneration scheme in Birmingham has moved forward with the sale of a site to make way for a new hotel.
Arena Central Developments LLP (ACDL), a joint venture between Miller Developments and Bridgehouse Capital, has completed the sale of the former Leisure Club Arena Central, to Centre Island Birmingham.
Planning permission was granted to Centre Island in the summer for a 14 storey, 210-bedroom Holiday Inn Express hotel accessed from Holliday Street. The proposals also include a separate 10,000 sq ft health club with swimming pool and spa and an atrium link to the adjacent Crowne Plaza Hotel – also owned by Centre Island.
The hotel will back onto the planned Arena Square, forming a part of an office-led, mixed use regeneration scheme.
Outline planning consent for Arena Central is already in place for up to 2.3m sq ft of mixed-use development including up to 800,000 sq ft of Grade A offices, hotels, residential units of more than 200,000 sq ft and up to 1.2m sq ft of retail/leisure units.
Jonathan Wallis, development director at Miller Developments, said: “The sale of this site to Centre Island for a Holiday Inn Express, made possible with the help of Birmingham City Council, will greatly boost the hotel offering in the city.
“Arena Central is Birmingham’s most strategically located regeneration scheme and we are confident that this will act as a catalyst for further development on the site.”
Mark Foster, managing director of Centre Island, said: “Now we have purchased the site and gained planning permission, we will start work as soon as possible to deliver a contemporary property entirely fitting to its city centre location.”
Work on site is due to start mid-2013 and the hotel aims to be open by January 2015. The development will include the demolition of the old multi-storey car park at the junction of Holliday Street and Bridge Street and the completion of the demolition of the old retail units fronting Alpha Plaza.
