Birmingham Properties Group to develop £20million Harborne apartment scheme
Date: 15th December 2008
Birmingham Properties Group (BPG) has been appointed to develop the Axis residential development on Harborne High Street. The half completed construction site – the biggest casualty of the Chase Homes administration – comprises 94 apartments and has been on hold since July, whilst the Administrators considered a range of options.
An element of the landmark, high profile scheme will be redesigned and submitted to Birmingham City Council for planning consent in order to create 17 townhouses along the Greenfield Road elevation. This design alteration will reduce the number of apartments to 67, ensuring the scheme is sensitive to the Victorian townhouses surrounding the site, whilst also widening the appeal of the development.
The scheme will be rebranded and re-launched to the market in mid 2009, with the construction contract anticipated to conclude in mid 2010.
John Tebbutt, managing director of BPG Limited comments: “It was a very sad moment for the whole of the West Midlands property market when Chase Homes and its Harborne Apartments subsidiary went into administration this summer. By far the largest of Chase’s live development sites was Axis on Harborne High Street. Situated in the middle of what could easily be regarded as Birmingham’s best suburban high street, it was crucial that the half completed construction site was rescued as soon as possible.
“Our decision to develop the site was not taken lightly as there is nothing more complex than inheriting a large half finished construction site, however, the potential of the scheme is clear. Whilst we are in no doubt that the residential market will continue to be challenging throughout 2009, Harborne is a highly sought after suburban village. With its prominent professional, media and medical community, we are confident that demand for this scheme will be at a healthy level when it is ready to be re-launched next year.”
BPG reports that it will continue to employ the services of Axis’ site manager, who has overseen the entire construction process since work commenced on site in autumn 2006.
The development site is designed in two distinctive blocks, each creating its own communal courtyard space. The extensive basement has 130 parking spaces, allowing for almost two spaces per dwelling if BPG’s plans to create 17 townhouses in place of 27 apartments are passed by the City’s planning committee. With virtually no new build competition in the vicinity, the highly generous parking allocation is considered to be a strong unique selling point in contrast to the vast majority of Harborne’s Victorian townhouses, which have no parking.
The Axis development site is bounded by Harborne High Street, Greenfield Road and Vivian Road. The site was previously occupied by a car dealership.
Established for over 30 years, BPG’s last major acquisition was 1 St Paul’s Square in the Jewellery Quarter, which was acquired in March 2008. The 14,000 sq ft mixed use building is one of the most prominent buildings on the Square, with The Jam House occupying the majority of the space. Three floors of offices are situated at the top and right hand side of the building, with occupiers including a Project Management firm and BPG themselves.