Birmingham celebrates opening of new £40 million student homes complex

Published by Jon Land for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Education

Birmingham’s status as one of the UK’s most student-friendly cities has been underlined with the opening of a new £40 million student accommodation complex in the city centre.

The 656-bed project, jointly developed by Cosmopolitan Student Homes and Iliad Group, is adjacent to Birmingham Aston University and near Birmingham City University. Students will begin moving in this month with all rooms already taken.

The building benefits from a local district energy system by Cofely District Energy. This enables hot water to be provided for the building as a by-product from electricity generated by Birmingham’s International Convention Centre.

Funding was secured for the project from Barclays Bank and the building is jointly owned by Iliad Group and Cosmopolitan Student Homes.

Liverpool-based Cosmopolitan Student Homes has been providing student housing since 1969 and currently manages some 3,700 units of accommodation in Liverpool, Manchester, Preston, Salford, Bradford and Stratford-upon-Avon. It is part of the not-for-profit Cosmopolitan Housing Group, which re-invests any surpluses generated into its mainstream social housing provision.

Sarah Claughton, Chair of Cosmopolitan Student Homes said: “We are thrilled to be celebrating the opening of this facility. Bagot Street is our second student homes development in the Midlands and we are very excited and pleased to see it completed and ready to welcome this year’s intake of students.

“It’s good news for everyone with an interest in the continued regeneration of Birmingham and of course for the students themselves who will benefit from a really impressive, but affordable place to live.”

Chris Pape, Managing Director, VINCI Construction UK, Building Division - Midlands said: “VINCI Construction UK is delighted to be involved in this project. The innovative and sustainable building not only reduces carbon emissions but also ensures that the accommodation remains affordable for students in years to come.

“The excellent quality of the accommodation is befitting of the needs of future students and will certainly put Birmingham on the map for higher education.“

Joe Cross, Construction Director for Iliad, said: “The vision of this project was to create the next generation of student accommodation and this was achieved through effective collaboration with partners such as Formroom Architects, Vinci Construction and Cosmopolitan Housing.

“This development is the first of its kind in the UK and has been delivered on time, in budget and to the highest Iliad standards.  Each room was let before the development was completed, a testament to the success of the project.”

The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Cllr Anita Ward, celebrated the opening of the new development by releasing 250 balloons.