Recycling Colmore Gate: Is This The Future Of Birmingham Offices?

Colmore Gate, one of the first modern office towers in Birmingham's central business district, is to be recycled.

The 172K SF block built in the 1990s is 18 storeys. The rethink adds additional floors taking the total to 22.

Tel Aviv-based Ashtrom Properties bought the building in September 2021 paying a reported £39.5M.

The building was 60% vacant with a low average rent of £24 per SF and a capital value of a little over £200 per SF, said at the time to be below the cost of replacement. The average weighted unexpired lease term is 3.4 years to expiry and 1.6 years to break, making the latest move timely.

The block was one of those sold in the liquidation of the Aviva Investors UK Funds Property Trust.

Ashtrom plans to “recycle and extend” rather than to replace, in an effort to cut carbon outputs. The aim is to set a new benchmark for sustainability in Birmingham's office market, Business Desk reported.

Retaining the structure not only saves carbon but also cuts costs and improves the turnaround time.

A pre-application consultation is now underway ahead of a formal submission to Birmingham City Council.

There will also be changes to cladding and new landscaping, as well as internal refurbishment.

Woodbourne Group's £360M plans for the city's first net-zero carbon project were recommended for approval by city planners in February 2023 but a decision notice has yet to be issued.

The scheme, which includes 130K SF of office and more than 1,000 residential units, is on a 3-acre site at Mill Street/Dartmouth Circus on the Birmingham/Fazeley canal network. 

Birmingham City Council set a target of net-zero carbon by 2030.