Hammerson has received planning consent to convert the former John Lewis department store at Grand Central in Birmingham into 200,000 sq ft of offices.
The developer says the Make Architects-designed ‘Drum’ “reimagines the former retail space creating a new paradigm of city centre workplace”.
The building features a large atrium, green living walls on each of the four levels and a rooftop garden lounge. The ground floor offers 40,000 sq ft of hospitality space featuring F&B operators, provision for a premium grocery offer, gym, wellbeing amenities and flexible events space.
Hammerson is targeting BREEAM Excellent, WELL Gold an EPC rating of A and WiredScore Platinum. The developer estimates that repurposing the building rather than knocking down and rebuilding it, will save the equivalent of 14,000 tonnes of CO2.
Harry Badham, chief development and asset repositioning officer at Hammerson, said: “We welcome Birmingham City Council’s approval of our plans, with the decision a significant boost to Birmingham’s reputation as a city for business, one that is progressive, dynamic and setting the benchmark for others to follow across the UK. Drum is a great demonstration of how Hammerson’s creativity and a deep understanding of occupier needs can create assets that thrive by diversifying their purpose to accommodate an even greater range of uses and users.”
