A 330 feet tall tower crane has been erected at 103 Colmore Row 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 £60 million 26-storey landmark office scheme.
Demolition contractors H Smith (Engineers) Ltd 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: “Were 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.
“It will take around 12 months for the building to be fully dismantled, after which work on constructing the new tower will begin in summer 2016, with completion scheduled for summer 2018.
“During the demolition and construction phases every effort will be made to keep disruption in the business district to a minimum and I would like to thank our neighbours and surrounding businesses for their patience, support and cooperation thus far.”