Birmingham revamp tipped to aid commercial property market - commercial mortgages

19 June 2008

In new that may interest those with commercial mortgages in the Birmingham area, the commercial property market on the south side of the city centre has been tipped to gain from the revamp of New Street railway station.

Writing in the Birmingham Post, Ed Jones and John Dillon of commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton said that plans by architects Urban Initiatives for a revamp of the station also include the surrounding area, with four large skyscrapers amid mixed-use development.

Describing the city''s demand for office space as "bursting at the seams", they suggest these new developments will be second only in importance to the new Eastside project in providing new office space.

The doubling of the station''s capacity will also help as it will make transport access to the area easier, they added, suggesting the positive regenerative effect could be comparable to that seen as a result of major investment in Kings Cross and St Pancras in London.

Another part of central London that looks set for a revamp is the West End.

In a move that could boost the commercial property market in that part of the capital, the new leader of Westminster City Council, Colin Barrow, has pledged to improve the area in time for the 2012 Olympics, Property Week reports.