Five Ways

Birmingham, United Kingdom

Our Five Ways scheme between Edgbaston and Birmingham City Centre is a large, mixed used scheme, which incorporates high quality student and build to rent housing, along with complimentary retail and leisure set around a publicly accessed landscaped square.

Two existing buildings dominate the existing site; Five Ways House and Five Ways Tower. Both buildings previously served commercial uses however are now vacant.

Osborne+Co’s proposal includes retaining Five Ways House by carrying out an extensive refurbishment to this modernist building. To the rear of the site, we propose demolishing the 27-storey Five Ways Tower to make way for a more modern and elegant structure of similar scale together with two smaller blocks for student/residential uses. Sitting in the middle of the new buildings and the regenerated Five Ways House will be a publicly accessible landscaped square to provide an area for residents and the public.

The site has strong public transport links, not only to the city centre but also to the universities via the adjacent Five Ways Station. Retaining Five Ways House will reduce our embodied carbon impact by 60% as we look to support a greener future for the city.

Project summary

GDV: £190m

Project type: Value-add planning, pre-let, forward funding and development

Total sq footage: 600,000 ft2

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The results

Osborne+Co acquired Five Ways Tower some time ago as a speculative development opportunity. We have subsequently entered into contracts to complete the site assembly working with the Calthorpe Estate to move the site forward for redevelopment in line with the wider Calthorpe Estate masterplan for the area.

We are working through a detailed planning application to achieve c800 student beds and c400 residential units. The proposed tower will enjoy unparalleled views over the city and down to the leafy Edgbaston Conservation area. The combination of Student and Build to Rent uses will meet unsatisfied demand in the city.

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