GVA completes first disposal at BCU City North campus
GVA has completed a deal that will see land previously owned by Birmingham City University (BCU) become a new school serving the Perry Barr community.
The £1.7m deal with free school operator the Tauheedul Free School Trust involves the sale of a 3.5 acre former industrial site opposite the university’s City North campus in Perry Barr.
The university’s decision to sell the land follows a number of previous developments in an estates strategy that has already seen a major investment in Birmingham’s Eastside area. The Parkside Building, adjacent to the City Park, was opened in 2013 and the custom designed £62m Curzon Building is due for completion in 2015.
Graham Rhodes, director of estates at BCU, said: “The sale of this industrial land to the Tauheedul Free School Trust represents not just a good deal for the university but also an excellent development for the Perry Barr community. It means a disused site will now be developed in a way that will benefit generations of young people and their families.”
Earlier this year, GVA assisted BCU in the relocation of a number of the university’s functions to the former New Technology Institute (NTI) Building in Birmingham city centre, which was at that time the largest office transaction of the year..
GVA’s Carl Potter said: “It is important for BCU that it ensures the very best development of its land, selling to developers or individuals who will make a contribution to the wider area, something this deal achieves extremely well.
“With strong transport links and located so close to the city centre, Perry Barr is well suited to support this kind of redevelopment.”
Law firm Mills & Reeve acted for Birmingham City University on the land sale, which was conditional upon Tauheedul Free School Trust first obtaining planning permission for the development of the site.
