Apex Lofts Nearing Completion in Digbeth

Apex Lofts is a brand new residential development that forms part of Birmingham’s transformational Rea Valley Urban Quarter.

Passing Curzon Street HS2 on the train and Apex Lofts with its sawtooth roofs come prominently into view. Work is scheduled to complete here later this year.

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The Warwick Street site, from 10M Group, just off High Street, is already an uplifting presence on the Digbeth skyline, rising to 9 storeys in an area now going through a resurgence.

Replacing a vehicle workshop, its design articulates cutting-edge features that encapsulates the rich industrial heritage of the area.

Apex Lofts will soon provide 33 one and 33 two-bedroom apartments along with 14 sizeable duplexes, including 10 discounted units.

There will be a rich array of facilities including a communal rooftop sky garden and outdoor gym space, with ground-level gardens and secure storage for 80 cycles and scooters.

The street itself is going through big changes with Hairpin House, next door, completing recently to become Digbeth’s first build-to-rent offering, bringing 237 homes to the vicinity.

In the coming months, Sapphire Court, from the team behind Apex Lofts, will deliver 166 more homes to the street – again, next door.

The site is in the process of being cleared, as seen below before full work gets underway. 

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Apex Lofts, a development from 10M Group and Corstorphine+Wright Architects.

Drone photography by Stephen Giles; CGIs from Corstorphine+Wright.

The Construction of JQ Rise - August 2023

JQ Rise on Summer Hill Road is making an impressive contribution to the surrounding landscape at the gateway to the historic Jewellery Quarter and the Ladywood Estate.

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JQ Rise is a contemporary residential development containing 226 stylish one- and two-bedroom apartments and a penthouse duplex.

Spread across three blocks ranging from four, eight & 25 storeys, the site is making great strides and will be set around an external communal garden, with 226 cycles and off-road parking.

JQ Rise consists of three key elements: a subservient four-storey next to a Victorian building on Goodman Street; a 25-storey corner tower with a top-floor recessed duplex; and an interlinked eight-storey fronting Summer Hill Road.

It is being developed offsite via a precast concrete modular building system before being craned into place, with each home set to feature integrated kitchens and bathroom suites, making it perfect for young professionals, couples, and even students.

JQ Rise is a development from Prosperity, designed by K4 and executed by CBP.

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Drone images by Stephen Giles; CGIs from Prosperity.

South Central Tower - August 2023 Update

South Central Tower recently resumed installation of c1800 terracotta panels after momentarily stalling due to supply chain challenges with the façade manufacturer.

With the site back up and running, the panels are now starting to wrap around level nine.

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The first six floors on the Essex Street facade do not have any windows. An agreement was reached with an adjacent landowner to avoid overlooking a future development plot (Trifecta Residences).

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...and back in late July:

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The building will soon accommodate 166 apartments, including a mezzanine level and an open-air roof garden/ cinema/ fitness space.

Images from Stephen Giles and Daniel Sturley. View the map of the site, here.

The Construction of Three Chamberlain Square - August 2023 Update

Three Chamberlain Square, forming the second office building of 'Paradise Birmingham Phase II', is now rising next to the historic Town Hall.

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The low energy, low carbon building, rooted in wellness and sustainability, will provide a desirable new workspace when it completes in 2025.

It will offer 189K SF of prime office floor space, complemented by bustling new restaurants and bars at ground level, raising the bar for commercial office buildings.

With elegant florid motifs, vertical ribs, and a cantilevered base, 3CS will be run on all-electric power and heating. Facilities will include a ninth-floor 5K SF terrace, gender-neutral WCs, 24 showers and changing areas, and 200 basement cycle spaces.

Vibrant ground-level activity will naturally spill out onto the new public realm, seamlessly connecting Chamberlain Square with Paradise Street and to the tram stop adjacent to Town Hall.

3CS has been designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and is now being built out by Sir Robert McAlpine and a legion of subcontractors.

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APPROVAL: Sustainable Urban Farm for the JQ

Plans to turn the upper two levels (5 & 6) of Vyse Street car park into a sustainable urban farm have won the backing of Birmingham City Council’s planning committee.

Campaign group Slow Food Birmingham and Urban Design Hub are free to reanimate an underutilised, nondescript grey space into a unique and productive green one.

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The aim of the farm is to champion local producers and food businesses and help to support the wants and needs of the local economy and people with a fresher, tastier, and more sustainable alternative to the major supermarkets.

Spread over two phases the project will include glasshouses for vertical growing, a non-odour emitting mushroom farm, plant beds, bee-keeping facilities, a community garden, an events space, three wind turbines, and a biodiversity centre with a café.

All goods to and from the site will even be delivered via electric cargo bikes and electric vans/milk floats.

“We hope that the project will foster valuable conversations about the city’s food system and create a model for change, championing hyper-local food production and education", Slow Food said earlier in the year.

Councillors unaminously approved the project with the consensus being that the initiative “will provide social, economic, and environmental benefits to the local community."

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Vyse Street farm, images from Urban Design Hub.