Arena Central Developments LLP (ACDL), a joint venture between Miller Developments and Bridgehouse Capital, has completed the sale of the former Leisure Club Arena Central, to Centre Island Birmingham Ltd in a move that will see the start of development of one of the cities key development sites.
Jonathan Wallis, Development Director, Miller Developments, commented: “The sale of this site to Centre Island for a Holiday Inn Express, made possible with the help of Birmingham City Council, will greatly boost the hotel offering in the city. Arena Central is Birmingham’s most strategically located regeneration scheme and we are confident that this will act as a catalyst for further development on the site.”
Planning permission was granted to Centre Island Birmingham Ltd in the summer for a contemporary 14 storey, 210-bedroom Holiday Inn Express hotel accessed from Holliday Street. The proposals also include a separate 10,000 sq ft health club with swimming pool and spa and an atrium link to the adjacent Crowne Plaza Hotel – also owned by Centre Island.
The hotel, once complete, will back onto the planned Arena Square, forming a key part of an office led mixed use scheme.
Mark Foster, Managing Director, Centre Island, said: “The new hotel will be an outstanding building in a fantastic location at the heart of Birmingham’s key city centre arterial routes.
“Now we have purchased the site and gained planning permission, we will start work as soon as possible to deliver a contemporary property entirely fitting to its city centre location. We are very excited to be such an integral part of the larger Arena Central proposals and will continue to work with ACDL and Birmingham City Council to help bring the long-awaited regeneration of this area to the city”
Work on site is due to start mid-2013 and the hotel aims to be open by January 2015. The development will include the demolition of the old Multi Storey Car Park at the junction of Holliday Street and Bridge Street and the completion of the demolition of the old retail units fronting Alpha Plaza.
Arena Central is a 7.6-acre regeneration site at the heart of Birmingham City Centre and forms a significant part of Birmingham’s vision for the city’s Westside and Enterprize Zone, as set out in the Big City Plan.
Bordered by Suffolk Street Queensway, Broad Street, Bridge Street and Holiday Street, Arena Central remains the only site with planning consent in the City Centre capable of delivering large buildings with floor plates of over 20,000 sq ft.
Outline planning consent for Arena Central is already in place for up to 2.3 million sq ft of mixed-use development including up to 800,000 sq ft of Grade A office accommodation, hotels, residential units of over 200,000 sq ft alongside up to 1.2 million sq ft of retail/leisure units set within well maintained public realm.