Plans for a 26 storey hotel in Birmingham next to the revamped New Street Station and Grand Central shopping centre have been given the go ahead by city planning bosses.
The proposed BLOC Grand Central hotel has been designed by Glen Howells Architects to offer 238 rooms.
The building will be fitted with dark extruded aluminium cladding profiled with horizontal fins which will give the hotel a distinct appearance on the city’s skyline.
The slender hotel will be built at 32-34 Hill Street on a site which is currently occupied by a large empty 1960s office block.
Managing Director of BLOC Hotels, Rob Morgan, commented: “We’re really excited that planning permission for the new BLOC Grand Central has been approved.
“This is a defining movement in the company’s ambitious growth strategy. Our first hotel was in Birmingham and we want to continue to invest in the city that the brand was born in.”
Glenn Howells, of Glenn Howells Architects, said that the company is delighted to be working with fellow Birmingham based firm BLOC Hotels on a bespoke building for the heart of the city.
Howells continued: “The building is situated at an important gateway site within Birmingham City Centre and offers the opportunity to define a benchmark for the future regeneration of this part of the city.”
BLOC’s multi million pound hotel has been praised as a ‘catalyst’ for the redevelopment of the city.
Its construction will help realise Birmingham City Council’s vision of making the Southside district a vibrant and attractive destination for visitors.
The Cabinet Minister for Development, Transport and the Economy, Councillor Tahir Ali, said that the area has been crying out for redevelopment and that this building will be a catalyst for this.
The council member responsible for making Birmingham the enterprise capital of Britain, by growing businesses, creating jobs and improving wages gave his full support for the plans.
