DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS:
BASKERVILLE WHARF, BIRMINGHAM
Targetfollow has gained Cabinet approval to enter into exclusive negotiations with Birmingham City Council to examine the potential for a new development at Baskerville Wharf.
The approval enables Targetfollow to work with the council to explore how adjoining land owned by the two parties to the rear of Targetfollow’s Baskerville House could be used as the site of a new-mixed use development comprising hotels, restaurants, student accommodation, offices, housing and retail units. An early artists impression of Targetfollow’s intentions indicates how this mix of uses could be delivered to maximise this canal-side opportunity.
Baskerville Wharf would link Centenary Square and Cambridge Street to Farmer Locks with Baskerville House and the new Library of Birmingham forming the gateway into this exciting opportunity. The development will also further enhance regeneration plans for the Westside of the City, alongside developments such as Arena Central, the new Library of Birmingham and the V building.
Cllr Neville Summerfield, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said: “The initial proposals for Baskerville Wharf will boost Birmingham’s standing as a global city, encouraging economic prosperity with a new development in an appealing canal-side location. It will fit in with the wider perspectives of Birmingham’s Big City Plan, providing a prime site for investment, within a key area where people live and businesses operate.”
The development area includes the existing Brindley Drive multi-storey car park, the Cambrian Halls of Residence and the Flapper Public House, all of which Targetfollow have long leasehold or freehold interests in and then land solely in the ownership of the Council.
To deliver the aspiration of Baskerville Wharf, Targetfollow have appointed a high quality and experienced project team to advance these proposals, including Feilden Clegg Bradley Architects and Martha Schwartz public realm designers, Savills, Jones Lang LaSalle, and The Urban Consortium, with a view to delivering a planning application in 2009.
Julian Wells, Development Director at Targetfollow, said: “Having set the standard with the regeneration of Baskerville House, Targetfollow is committed to the expansion of Westwide and the success and growth of the city. Baskerville Wharf represents an exciting project for Birmingham with the potential for significant inward and national investment. With the city set to see £17 billion worth of inward investment in regeneration over the next decade, we want to play our part in this process.
Targetfollow is committed to working closely with the principle cities in delivering such visions. This ensures that our development schemes will always meet a city’s aspirations as well as the vision of local people, an approach that we will bring to Baskerville Wharf as our ideas progress.”