One Centenary Way, the major new landmark and highly sustainable commercial building in the heart of Birmingham, was officially launched on 19th October.
The launch event saw a wide range of the city’s business community come together to mark this important milestone for the city’s commercial real estate, development and occupier market.
Designed by Birmingham-based Howells, with engineering input from Arup, One Centenary Way is a 68 metre tall, 13 storey, 280,000 sq ft commercial building with bar and restaurant uses on the ground floor.
The steel exoskeleton of the building enables it to straddle the A38 Queensway tunnel in a unique engineering solution to the challenges of the location, with the highway running directly beneath the site remaining open throughout the construction period.
Completed earlier this year by contractor Sir Robert McAlpine, the building book-ends Paradise and overlooks Centenary Square and Broad Street.
Most of all, One Centenary Way is a stand-out addition to the city’s evolving skyline and brings new ways of working to its occupiers.
The basement of the building features Birmingham’s first dedicated cycle hub with space for up to 400 bikes, showers, storage and maintenance facilities, all of which will be available to the public as well as Paradise occupiers from next year.
Environmental consultancy Arup will soon begin the relocation of its 1,000 strong Midlands team to the building and will be joined early next year by global banking group Goldman Sachs and real estate advisors JLL.
Further floors of the building are currently under offer, leaving just one and half floors available.
A highly sustainable space thanks to a pure electric heating and hot water supply system and SMART access to services, information and facilities, One Centenary Way is helping Birmingham and Paradise in their journey to net zero.
Featuring floorplates of up to 22,500 square feet and with a stunning terrace overlooking Centenary Square on the twelfth floor, the building is a significant new landmark for the city and makes a positive statement on the city’s skyline.
Its sky lantern feature underlines this role and provides a major feature within the city centre with a 360-degree light display capable of changing through more than 1 million different colours.
Rob Groves, regional development director at MEPC, the development and asset management arm of Federated Hermes, said: “The official launch of One Centenary Way is a huge milestone for Paradise and the city. It is another successful element of the Paradise estate, and a crucial building for Birmingham in terms of attracting new and existing office occupiers looking to expand or find a new home where they can grow sustainably.
“It has enabled organisations like Arup and Goldman Sachs to move thousands of jobs to the city centre, contributing to a thriving regional economy and a growing profile for the city’s real estate market.”
Chris Taylor, CEO of Real Estate & Head of Private Markets, Federated Hermes Limited said: “One Centenary Way is evidence of our long-term thinking and commitment to a net zero future at Paradise. One of the largest commercial buildings in Birmingham, One Centenary Way is an exemplary design, a triumph of engineering prowess and a new landmark for the people of the city.
“By investing in a building that sets new standards of sustainability, efficiency and desirability for the city, we are supporting Birmingham’s credentials as a leading regional and global business destination. Paradise continues to build a reputation as the finest regional business destination in the UK that has attracted new jobs, skills and opportunities to the city and will continue to do so as its later phases come through.”
Matthew Hammond, Chair of the West Midlands Growth Company and PwC Birmingham Senior Partner for the past 8 years, said at the launch: “As the first business occupier at Paradise, we have a strong relationship with the city stretching back over 100 years, and we have strong relationships with this pivotal regeneration scheme that is transforming the heart of Birmingham. We understand the importance of placemaking and our purposes to both attract and retains talent.
“Our people love working at Paradise, as do our clients whom we serve, the community interests we support aligned to our purpose, and our colleagues across the UK who travel here for meetings and events. We welcome all of our business neighbours who are joining us here at Paradise, where we know they will not only flourish, but find one of the best business ecosystems in Europe awaiting them.”
The development’s latest building currently underway is Three Chamberlain Square, a brand-new mixed-use space facing Paradise Street and Ratcliff Passage, adjacent to the Grade I listed Town Hall.
Planning approval was also awarded last year for a new 17 storey, 152-bedroom hotel on the corner of Paradise Street, as well as a new public square and a number of new pedestrianised streets.
At almost 2 million square feet, Paradise is delivering up to ten flagship and sustainable buildings, offering offices, shops, bars, cafés, restaurants, a high-quality hotel as well as Octagon, the world-first 49 storey pure octagonal residential tower, across 17 acres in the heart of the city.
The Paradise redevelopment is being brought forward through Paradise Circus Limited Partnership (PCLP), a private-public joint venture with Birmingham City Council. The private sector funding is being managed by the international business of Federated Hermes, which has partnered with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) on the first phase of the development and for One Centenary Way. MEPC is the development manager.
Paradise sits in the country’s largest city centre Enterprise Zone and has already benefited from investment by the GBSLEP in enabling and infrastructure works.