Crosby Lend Lease’s £100 million commitment to Birmingham

Midlands developer Crosby Lend Lease is underway with launching three new developments in Birmingham with a collective value of over £100 million.

Having already ploughed over £400million into Birmingham city centre over the last 11 years, the multi million investment is indicative of the company’s ongoing commitment to the redevelopment of the city, especially following their acquisition into the leading international retail and residential property group Lend Lease.

John Brown, managing director of Crosby Lend Lease Midlands said: “As a developer we have created well over 1,200 apartments in Birmingham city centre, which is significantly more than any other developer. Our plans for this year alone are to introduce three sites comprising over 500 new homes to the Birmingham marketplace equating to over £100million. Spread across the city, these sites illustrate our key values: to consistently improve the calibre and range of residential apartments in the city and to drive development into new untouched areas of the city to spread the investment and further improve the City’s image.”

Adjacent to Crosby Lend Lease’s landmark Orion development, Sirius will provide 182 one and two bedroom apartments ranging from 418 sq ft to 796 sq ft. Located on John Bright Street, Sirius is a vital part of the redevelopment jigsaw at the rear of New Street - historically regarded as Birmingham’s entertainment district in the days before Broad Street.

Hub is the first open market development in Birmingham’s as yet untouched Gun Quarter. Situated on Clive Passage, off Summer Lane, the development will occupy the 0.5-acre parcel of land formerly known as Honduras Wharf.

Close to the regeneration of Snowhill, Hub will comprise 123 units in a seven-storey canalside scheme. The schedule of accommodation includes a high proportion of units suitable for the growing ‘city crash pad’ market. 50 studio apartments will sit alongside 37 one-bedroom homes. There will also be 36 two-bedroom apartments, including 10 duplex designs.

i land, on the corner of Essex Street, launched to the public on 24th January. With a gross development value of £50million the Glenn Howells designed scheme has 272 apartments priced from £150,000. The scheme neighbours Crosby’s Southside scheme which was the first residential development in the Chinese Quarter. Southside’s launch in 2001 is credited with triggering huge inward investment from a number of other national developers.

With branches in Manchester and Yorkshire, Crosby has had an exceptional decade culminating in the acquisition by international property experts Lend Lease. Now under the umbrella of the international property specialists, Crosby is aiming to secure lucrative mixed-use land deals in the Midlands as it consolidates its position as one of the leading developers in the city.

Current Crosby schemes include The Orion Building in Navigation Street – a joint collaboration with international fashion designer, John Rocha and BBLB Architects, with 340 apartments and ground floor retail units. It also contains the city’s most expensive apartment – the £1.65 million penthouse apartment with just under 3000 sq ft of space and 360 degree panoramic views.

John Brown continues: “Crosby Lend Lease continues to go from strength to strength in the city. Our ability to identify and select prime positions is evident from our consistent sales rate and our proven track record provides confident foundation for purchasers. We now have the luxury of a loyal Crosby customer base who trusts our judgement into new territories.

“With much of our landholding focussed on brownfield sites we continue to work closely with planners to create innovative designs, which blend high quality homes with offices, restaurants and retail outlets, creating vibrant sustainable communities where people want to live.

“In a changing marketplace it is the company’s strong brand identity, innovative design and ability to select the best locations that enables us to sustain our lead role in the regeneration of Birmingham city centre and we look forward to continuing this for the years to come.”