A major planning application will seek to create a 200-bed hotel as part of a total redevelopment of Birmingham’s giant store.
Site owner Legal & General wants to turn the 'Rackhams buildings' between Temple Row and Corporation Street into a nine-storey mixed-use complex.
While it has today declined to put a cash value on the plans, one of the most spectacular features would be a west-facing terrace on the seventh floor with ‘magnificent views over St. Philip’s Square from the city’s largest rooftop terrace and restaurant’.
The ambitious project would essentially see the Rackhams buildings being turned into a more central version of the which is home to BBC Birmingham, specialist shops, a Harvey Nichols store, restaurants and the
The new hotel would be on the opposite side of Cathedral Square to , which is due to reopen with 185 bedrooms in 2019 after years of restoration work.
You can see the CGIs of the Rackhams building proposals in the video above - and enjoy pictures of House of Fraser in Birmingham through the years in a second video below.
Legal & General's plans include
More than 365,000 sq ft of office space over nine floors
Nearly 60,000 sq ft of retail and leisure facilities, and
More than 33,000 sq ft of restaurants, cafes and bars.
There would also be room for a communal space, a large atrium and external terraces.
The site would have 'limited car park spaces' with the number yet to be determined.
The store's existing loading bay would also house cycle and changing facilities.
'One of the best sites in Birmingham'
Simon Wilkes of LGIM Real Assets said: “In addition to providing a most welcome increase in the availability of Grade A office space to help meet growing demand in the city, these proposals will create a new cluster of attractive food, drink, retail and leisure facilities right in the city’s core.
“Rackhams is one of the best situated buildings in Birmingham and we are very confident that its transformation with updated design and facilities, innovative range of uses and quality of materials will quickly attract new occupants, eager to benefit from the great potential of this wonderful space.
“This unique mix of uses and positive enhancement of what is one of the city’s most familiar properties will bring added vibrancy to the centre of Birmingham, bringing additional jobs and attracting more visitors.”
House of Fraser / Sports Direct had not responded to our request for more information about the future of the existing store at the time of publication.
Staff at the store said they could not speak ‘even off the record’.
One employee said: “We are trading... on a daily basis.”
In September, we reported that House of Fraser stores in Telford, Solihull and Sutton Coldfield had been saved.
History of the building
Rackhams was acquired by Harrods in 1955.
It purchased the large island site to enable the construction of the new store to begin in 1957.
Harrods was itself taken over by House of Fraser in 1957.
The new store then opened in several stages between 1960 and 1966 before being redeveloped during a refurbishment programme in the early 1980s.
In 2003, Rackhams became House of Fraser and Amanda Holden relaunched the store.
With 500,000 sq ft of space, it is the largest House of Fraser in the country.
In June 2018 it was feared the store would be closing early in the new as the troubled group looked to close 31 of its 59 stores.
Local trader Paul Lamb, who has run at Great Western Arcade since 1998, said of the feared closure of the store: "It will leave a massive hole in the city... this whole area feels forgotten about."
In August, House of Fraser was bought by Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct for £90 million and the entire senior management team in Birmingham was axed.
We called a window display featuring original plans, a typewriter and uniforms as 'the saddest ever'.
On October 12, we reported that the store had been
But although its 600 staff were feeling more positive, House of Fraser did not confirm the news officially and had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
Details of new plans
The Rackhams buildings have been under the ownership of since 2014 when it bought the site for £71.4 million.
LGIM Real Assets (Legal & General) is set to make a formal planning application with Birmingham City Council to redevelop the site.
The plans will be submitted on December 19 and, theoretically, a decision will be taken within eight to 12 weeks.
Meetings are currently being held with various local stakeholders.
An online form can be completed and forwarded for consideration at this
The future for House of Fraser in Birmingham
With the company still not responding to our ongoing requests for more information the current store's immediate and medium-term futures are not wholly apparent.
Legal & General said it had been ‘in discussions about a reformatted store with the former owners of House of Fraser’ since its acquisition (in 2014).
It added that House of Fraser entered a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) in the summer of 2018 and reached agreement with Sports Direct ‘to allow the business to continue operating from the premises on a short-term basis’.
The corporate view
A Legal & General statement said the proposals ‘respond to changing patterns in retailing and strong demand for Grade A office floorspace’.
It added: ‘The proactive management and reimagining of the building responds directly to this opportunity to ensure longevity of use.
‘Sensitive refurbishment proposals have been designed by T P Bennett who, as architects of the original Rackham’s building, bring a unique insight alongside a contemporary approach to the reimagination of a durable and flexible building fit for use in the 21st Century.
‘The proposals retain and enhance the original character of the building and are sympathetic to its setting overlooking St. Philip’s Cathedral and square.
‘Plans for the newly transformed building include nine floors of much-needed contemporary, Grade A offices and a new ‘boutique’ hotel on the corner of Cherry Street and Temple Row.
‘There will also be a range of stylish bars, restaurants, coffee houses and retail space on the ground and lower ground floors.
‘The new offices will be accessed through a completely redesigned entrance and reception area on Temple Row that will also house a full height atrium and informal co-working space as well as the hotel reception lobby’.
What else is Legal & General doing in Birmingham?
Founded in 1836 – two years after was built and two years before opened – Legal & General is currently valued at almost £14 billion.
Still based in London after 182 years, Legal & General’s other investments include the comprehensive redevelopment of the historic Lewis Building on Birmingham’s Bull Street.
It is also behind a 220 unit city centre Build to Rent development and the funding of Birmingham’s 240,000 sq ft office scheme, which is let to the Government and represents the largest pre-let to take place in the city in a decade.
Legal & General also recently acquired Birmingham’s from Aviva Investors for £46.95 million, taking the value of its ‘Leisure Fund’ to more than £600 million.
