Hammerson has submitted plans to transform a former department store at Grand Central, part of its Birmingham estate, into 200,000 sq ft of modern wellbeing-designed offices called ‘Drum’.
Designed by Ken Shuttleworth’s Make Architects, the proposals reflect Hammerson’s strategy to reinvigorate its prime urban estates through diversifying uses whilst maximising the re-use of embodied carbon in existing buildings.
As part of the proposals, the ground floor will be repurposed to deliver 40,000 sq ft of hospitality space with a restaurant, bar and food market that will complement the existing food and hospitality hub in Grand Central.
In addition, the proposals will create space for a premium grocery offer, gym, wellbeing amenities, flexible events space and cycle storage facilities. The new space will support tenants and enhance the experience for other visitors.
Drum, which takes its name from the instrumental design of the building, will extend the former department store’s atrium through all the four floors of the building to include a sweeping, open, communal entrance. It will also lead to a newly created rooftop garden lounge, while green walls on each level will give the appearance of the garden spilling back down through the building.
The workspace is expected to accommodate up to 2,000 people and will be the best-connected offices in Birmingham, with unrivalled access via train and tram, as well benefitting from excellent cycle and pedestrian access, and integration with Hammerson’s wider Bullring Estate.
Harry Badham, Chief Development and Asset Repositioning Officer at Hammerson, said, “This project is the next step in Hammerson’s vision to transform our Birmingham estate, creating a truly multi-use asset that thrives due to its relevance and diversity.
'Drum is an original and highly important evolution of workplaces, built on the principles of connectivity, amenities, and sustainability, and it is crucial we complement it by creating a vibrant public realm that provides new facilities and more choice for office workers and visitors.
'These proposals will create a new world-class restaurant and leisure hub at this key national interchange and gateway to the UK’s fastest growing city.”
The designs centre around innovatively reusing the retail structure, sustainably retaining as much of it as possible and embedding health, wellbeing, and social amenity into the core of the space. By refurbishing rather than developing a new building, approximately 14,000 tonnes of CO2 will be saved.
Subject to achieving planning consent, work on the transformation will begin later this year, with the potential for completion in 2025.
Hammerson’s proposals for the transformation of the former department store follows the wider strategy to reinvigorate its Birmingham estate, with experiential concepts introduced to support a diverse collection of hospitality brands.
Boutique bowling from Lane7 and the world’s first interactive football experience Toca Social will be joining the scheme later this year, working alongside the likes of local eatery Burger & Sauce, Indian small plates restaurant Mowgli, and authentic Chinese dishes from Mrs Chew’s.