Southside ’23-storey tower’ plot sells for £1.8m
A Birmingham office block and retail premises with ‘significant redevelopment potential’ has been sold to a Chinese investment syndicate.
The 7,700 sq ft Essex House, which is around a quarter of a mile from Birmingham New Street Station, was put up for sale by city agents Shepherd Commercial in March.
The existing building is currently partly rented out on the ground floor by the Bank of China.
The site has been the subject of a pre-application process with Birmingham City Council for potential redevelopment as student accommodation, which provided positive feedback on a number of redevelopment scenarios, including a 23-storey scheme which would deliver up to 80 apartments.
A Glancy Nicholls designed scheme for the site imagines a potential 28-storey PBSA tower. The Southside Central tower, also a GN scheme, is shown to the right. Credit: Glancy Nicholls
Design work previously conducted by Glancy Nicholls Architects evaluated redevelopment options of six, twelve, and twenty-three storeys for the site, which is three doors down from the 28-storey South Central residential development currently under construction by RPGL and in an area currently undergoing significant regeneration.
The site is also a stone’s throw away from the 400 ft-tall Beetham Tower, home to a Radisson Blu hotel and currently the city’s fifth tallest building.
“I’m delighted to announce the completion of 31-33 Horsefair in Birmingham City Centre for £1,800,000, which is sold with the benefit of a positive pre-app with Birmingham City Council for a 23 storey PBSA tower,” said Shepherds Commercial managing director, Kaine Arkinson.
