Construction work has started on the fourth office block to be developed at Birmingham's £1.2 billion Paradise project. Called Three Chamberlain Square, it is being built on land next to the historic Town Hall and fronting onto Paradise Street.
Activity to prepare the site for work has been taking place this year and direct work will now be visible.
Scheduled to open in 2025, Three Chamberlain Square was awarded planning permission last summer and will reach ten storeys and have 189,000 sq ft of office and commercial space. It will also have 200 bike spaces, changing facilities and all-electric power and heating.
Public realm will help create new connections between Chamberlain Square and Paradise Street and link up with the Town Hall tram stop.
It was designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and is being built by construction and engineering contractor Sir Robert McAlpine which also led on the third Paradise building, One Centenary Way.
As well as Three Chamberlain Square, a new 17-storey hotel on the corner of Paradise Street was approved last year along with a trio of public spaces to be called Ratcliff Square, Western Terrace and Ratcliff Passage.
Ross Fittall, senior development manager with Paradise's development and asset manager MEPC, said: "This announcement of moving ahead swiftly with Three Chamberlain Square underlines our ongoing commitment to the city and to bringing forward new buildings at Paradise that are at the cutting edge of building technology and sustainability, as well as being of real architectural merit.
"Sir Robert McAlpine has already proven itself to us over the past three years as it worked on the successful completion of One Centenary Way.
"Its civil engineering skills are essential to a project like Paradise where we are always working within a highly constrained site with complex topography, groundworks, infrastructure and pedestrian flows to deal with."
Alina White, partner at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, added: "Our vision for Three Chamberlain Square is a building centred around the three principles of sustainability, wellbeing and place. With a main contractor now on site, we look forward to this vision coming to life over the coming years.
"Three Chamberlain Square has a prominent city centre location adjacent to the Town Hall and we have worked hard to pay homage to the past while setting new standards of modern design for the city."
Mark Bessey, Midlands regional director at Sir Robert McAlpine, said: "After our work on One Centenary Way, we're really proud to continue our relationship with the team at Paradise and MEPC and look forward to delivering another fantastic new building with high green credentials and commitment to sustainability."
