APACHE CAPITAL CELEBRATES TOPPING OUT OF ITS NEW £300M BUILD TO RENT SCHEME IN BIRMINGHAM

A new 722-home neighbourhood on the edge of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter has reached its highest point, marking an exciting construction milestone in the delivery of a vibrant new urban community in the heart of the city.  

In a funding JV led by Apache Capital and its investors Harrison Street and NFU Mutual, the team celebrated the topping out of the Great Charles Street neighbourhood last week. The neighbourhood, located on the former Ludgate Hill Carpark, started on site in April 2023 and is made up of three blocks ranging from six to 39- storeys.

In addition to the one- to three-bedroom homes for rent, the neighbourhood will give residents access to an extensive range of amenities, including a 24/7 gym, co-working spaces, private dining rooms, resident sky lounges, roof terraces, and a cinema room.

These will be complemented by a regular programme of events with a focus on community, health and wellbeing. 

Reactivating a gateway site between the Colmore Business District and the Jewellery Quarter, the new neighbourhood will be surrounded by landscaped green spaces and public realm, aligned with Birmingham City Council’s proposals to create a more accessible and pedestrian-friendly city centre.

The character of city’s iconic Jewellery Quarter is also reflected in the design for the ground floor retail spaces which are expected to be home to boutique shops, independent café-bars and restaurants and wellness amenities. 

Construction of Great Charles Street has seen the continuation of Moda and Sisk’s Skills and Training hub first launched during construction of Moda, The Mercian, and backed by the West Midlands Combined Authority.

So far, delivery of the project has resulted in: 

To recognise the work of the Skills and Training hub, the Topping Out was marked with talks from four of the 35 apprentices working on the regeneration project. They then made the final concrete pour on top of the building, cementing builder’s tools into the top of the building to secure the legacy of the Skills and Training hub in the development. 

As with all of Apache’s regional city BTR neighbourhoods, Great Charles Street will target leading ESG certifications, including three-star Fitwel certification as part of Moda’s status as a global champion for the healthy building accreditor. 

The project is backed by an investment JV between Apache Capital, Harrison Street and NFU Mutual. The finance deal for the neighbourhood was the largest ever seen in a UK regional city for a BTR development. 

In addition to delivering the new homes, the Apache JV is also working with local stakeholders and partners including West Midlands Combined Authority, Birmingham City Council and the Jewellery Quarter Development Trust, to enhance public spaces in the area. This includes the planned £120,000 transformation of the Livery Street subway, which will improve connectivity between the Jewellery Quarter and the city’s Colmore Business District.

Jamie Snary Executive Director, Asset Management & Operations, at Apache Capital said: “Build-to-Rent is going from strength to strength in Birmingham, and the wider UK. This is our second scheme in the city, building on the success of The Mercian and is a welcome addition to our portfolio of regional city-centre assets. High quality BTR schemes continue to perform and we are excited to see how the community evolves.”