A student accommodation block in Birmingham city centre is being put up for sale at auction next month.
The 175-bedroom Londonderry House, which is located at 2 Newton Street, has challenging fire regulations compliance issues and will have a guide price of £695,000+ in Bond Wolfe’s livestreamed auction on Thursday 9 July.
There is around 72 years remaining on the building’s 96-year lease from 24 April 2002 and it is subject to a peppercorn ground rent. The lease contains provisions linked to negotiations for a revised 154-year lease with Birmingham City Council.
Craig Upton, marketing director at Bond Wolfe, said: “This is a unique eight-storey block of student accommodation that was constructed on the top of a car park close to of Aston University and Birmingham City University. The ground floor has a reception area, office with a kitchen, laundry room, utility rooms for electricity and water, storage rooms and a large, covered car parking area accessed via Dale End.
“On the eighth floor there is an external entrance off the car park to Floor 9, which has four cluster units, one with six bedrooms, two with five bedrooms and one with four bedrooms. On Floors 10 to 16, there are again four cluster units per floor, each of them made up of one with six bedrooms, three with five bedrooms. Each unit has ensuite facilities and a shared kitchen, and each floor also has a studio unit with an open plan bedroom/kitchenette and shower room with toilet.
“This makes a total of 21 bedrooms on Floor 9, and another 154 bedrooms on Floors 10 to 16, making a grand total of 175, with 167 being ensuite, and eight studios, all with electric heating. Each floor has lift and staircase access from the reception area, and there is a communications room on each half landing. In addition, the roof area over Floor 16 which houses a lift engine room, generator room and a room containing a water tank.”
He added: “In 2001, planning permission was granted for the conversion of an office building to student/NHS key worker accommodation, and that decision notice is in the legal pack. Then in 2022, planning permission was granted to erect a further three stories to the existing eight storey block which would provide a further 60 units, and the replacement of external cladding to the existing building. This planning consent has now lapsed, but this is also in the legal pack. The property has been vacant since 2021 after receiving a notice from the fire authority due to non-compliance with fire regulations.”
