Crane towers over 103 Colmore Row

A 330 feet tall tower crane has been erected at 103 Colmore Row on central Birmingham as developers prepare for the next phase of demolition of the former NatWest Tower building.

The towering structure, which weighs more than 500 tonnes, will be on site for 50 weeks as the building is taken down floor by floor.

It took four days for the tower crane to be erected, with roads around Colmore Row closed to allow for the delivery and assembling of the heavy-duty equipment.

The erection of the tower crane represents another milestone in the development of the new 103 Colmore Row building.

In June, Birmingham City Council gave the go-ahead to Rockspring Property Investment Managers and development partner Sterling Property Ventures to demolish the 22-storey, 1970s-built NatWest Tower and replace it with a new £60m 26-storey office scheme.

Demolition contractors H Smith (Engineers) have been on site since mid-July, stripping out the building’s interior. Scaffolding is now being erected to allow for the dismantling of the concrete tower, which will take around 12 months.

At 346 feet high and with the apex to stand 246 metres above sea level, the new tower will be the tallest office building under construction in the UK outside London.

Designed by Doone Silver Architects, 103 Colmore Row will comprise 200,000 sq ft of Grade A office space over 19 floors with floorplates of up to 12,000 sq ft.

The building will also feature a winter garden, a café facing Colmore Row and a retail unit fronting Newhall Street. At the top of the building there is provision for an 8,600 sq ft restaurant with a 3,250 sq ft ‘lantern’ space offering 360-degree views of the city.

Peter Graham, construction director at Sterling Property Ventures, said: “We’re entering into another exciting phase of the development, with the scaffolding slowly shrouding the building and the tower crane on site and ready for the demolition to begin in earnest.”