New Birmingham landmark tops out with a midas touch

Birmingham’s new Three Snowhill office development, the largest speculative city-centre scheme outside London, has topped out - with a touch of gold.

The milestone was marked when trainee sub-contractor Matt Alcock inserted a golden bolt into a steel girder at the highest point of the building - by M&G Real Estate, the property investment arm of Prudential and development partner Ballymore.

Attending the ceremony, Leader of Birmingham City Council Cllr Ian Ward said Three Snowhill “embodies Birmingham’s growing confidence.

“The Birmingham skyline is going through a dramatic change,” said Cllr Ward. “The city is humming with the noise of regeneration. Looking at the number of major development projects, it is clear the city is undergoing a massive transformation.

“The whole Snowhill estate is part of new Birmingham and the topping out of Three Snowhill represents more than simply a landmark moment for a fantastic new building, it also typifies a confident and ambitious Birmingham; a city that is quite literally on the up.”

The 420,000 sq ft, 17-storey development - now less than a year away from completion - will be the only new top-quality Grade A office space in Birmingham in the first half of 2019.

Mr Alcock, a subcontractor for BAM Construction, is undertaking a Finishes and Interiors Sector course before a two-year apprenticeship, having previously been unemployed. He is one of 27 new staff who BAM took on to work on Three Snowhill, alongside more than 200 staff at the site. In total, more than 400 jobs have been supported by the construction work.

Three Snowhill, the final building on the four-acre Snowhill estate, will complete an attractive new gateway to Birmingham’s thriving central business district. Its flexible floorplates, suitable for a range of work styles and reflecting the latest in office design, will enable fit-out designers to create unique workplaces.

Ballymore’s Richard Probert, Project Director at Three Snowhill, who has worked on the estate since 2003, said: “When Three Snowhill completes we will have transformed a long-derelict site at the gateway to the city centre, which enabled the Metro city centre extension with the viaduct across the site and delivered nearly 1m sq ft of prime office space set in more than three acres of new public realm, including the St Chad’s open space, the Winter Garden, Colmore Square piazza and water feature and the Metro viaduct and boulevard, alongside Europe’s longest green wall.

Aaron Pope, Director, Asset Management at M&G Real Estate, added: “Our investment in Three Snowhill is a sign of our confidence in Birmingham. The arrival of HS2 will further boost the £110 billion regional economy, and support further inward investment and job creation.