Posted 10 February 2023 by
Keith OsborneBirmingham is the UK’s ‘second city’, with a population of over 1.1million, and is the centre of a metropolitan area stretching across county borders as far as Warwick, Wolverhampton, Tamworth and Bromsgrove, encompassing a wide array of places to live.
It is one of the country’s major economic centres since being transformed by the Industrial Revolution from market town to a thriving, highly skilled manufacturing-based city. Several universities and high-profile colleges make it an educational hotspot for students around the world, also attracted by the employment opportunities available across many sectors.
Over the past 20 years or so, there has been a great deal of regeneration around the city which has transformed some neglected districts into distinctive, popular and well-served residential areas which combine reusing characterful period buildings with brand new contemporary developments. With its 35 miles of canals, there are many picturesque places in which to enjoy city living
With its location in the centre of the country, it is conveniently placed to offer connectivity in all directions by road and rail (including three major central stations, and the arrival of HS2 between due between 2029 and 2033), and great services at its airport, only 10 minutes by rail from New Street station.
Apex Lofts
Snow Hill
Snow Hill has one of the city’s three main stations, this one serving places such as Stratford-upon-Avon, Worcester, Kidderminster and London Marylebone. It’s a short walk from the Bullring and everything that the city centre has to offer.
Developer St Joseph is busy here on its major Snow Hill Wharf project, bringing a collection of high-specification apartments in several canalside blocks, proving popular with owner-occupiers and investors. Residents benefits from a number of extra features here: 24-hour concierge service, communal lounge, top-of-the-range gym, a sauna and steam room, a cinema room and three podium gardens. Prices for two-bedroom apartments here currently start at £385,000 but for something larger, there are some duplexes for sale from £650,000 and ready to move into. There’s one set over the seventh and eighth floors which offers a generous 1,256 sq ft of living space. Bedroom one is luxurious with dressing area and feature en suite bathroom. There’s another double bedroom and a single room that could make a perfect study. The expansive open-plan kitchen/living/dining room has floor-to-ceiling windows and a vaulted roof. This home comes with a secure tandem parking space.
Heaton House
Jewellery Quarter
This major regeneration area has become one of the city’s most fashionable places to live, with a host of new homes being created here, served by many major and independent shops and offering a host of places to enjoy food and drink, or a night out.
Heaton House is a restoration of an historic 19th-century Georgian villa on Camden Street which Elevate Property Group has converted into 42 apartments and lofts complemented by some new townhouses. Common to all homes is a high-standard specification, contemporary kitchens and bathrooms, and some top-brand fixtures and fittings. This development is 75% sold but there are still opportunities to purchase here, with apartments from £250,000 and townhouses from £500,000. Find out more at elevatepropertygroup.co.uk.
Galliard Homes and Apsley House are working together on St Paul’s Quarter, a mixed-use development with 305 new apartments/duplexes and some 100,000 sq ft of retail and leisure work spaces. A brand new pedestrian walkway will put the city’s Central Business District within ten minutes of home. Prices have yet to be announced.
On the northern fringe of this district, Great Hampton Street is where developer Cordia Blackswan is offering apartments and duplexes at The Gothic, a luxury conversion of a restored Grade II listed former industrial building combining original features with a thoroughly modern specification. Prices right now range from £231,750 one-bedroom apartment to £901,250 for a three-double-bedroom/three-bathroom duplex with private terrace.
Glasswater Locks
Eastside
Another key part of the city centre, the Eastside has the ‘Learning Quarter’ with Birmingham City University, Aston University and the Science Museum. It’s served by Moor Street station, which offers services to a number of towns and cities and is only a few minutes from New Street. It will also be home to the Curzon Street interchange for HS2.
The Digbeth Branch Canal runs through it and it is alongside this that St Joseph is developing Glasswater Locks. The current phase, Curzon Wharf, has one- and two-bedroom apartments starting at £272,500. Priced at £435,000 is a sixth-floor two-bedroom flat with 684 sq ft of living space across an open-plan kitchen/living dining room with private balcony, two double bedrooms (on with en suite), shower room and utility cupboard. All residents have amenities including a 24-hour concierge, cinema, games room and gym.
Digbeth
With a history strongly linked to food production (such as ice cream, tea and custard), it is perhaps no surprise that cafés and bars in Digbeth today have a great reputation, and there’s a host of cultural events here too. It’s just a few minutes’ walk from here to even more dining and drinking options, along with many big-brand and independent outlets at the Bullring & Grand Central shopping centre.
Apex Lofts offers 80 one-, two- bedroom and 'sky loft’ apartments' set over nine levels of a thoroughly contemporary-design building, with many units providing views across the Birmingham skyline. Facilities offered include a resident's gym, cycle storage, rooftop garden and under-croft parking. Prices from £225,822. Find out more at www.maguirejackson.com.
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