Kenfin Family Office has been granted planning permission for their proposed Residence Inn by Marriot at St. James House on Horse Fair in Birmingham.
This will be the first signing for Residence Inn by Marriott in the city.
A long-vacant office premises above Birmingham’s iconic O2 Arena, the building is set to be transformed into a 156-room hotel following a decision by Birmingham City Council on Thursday 27 May.
WSP’s Birmingham-based Planning Consultancy team worked with architects Cartwright Pickard to submit the successful planning application, on behalf of Kenfin Family Office.
A focus on sustainability was carried throughout the project and plans are expected to be designed to a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating.
WSP’s planners and Cartwright Pickard, worked hand-in-hand with the design team to address these challenges and provide a solution, involving collaborative work between specialist teams including structural engineers; noise, energy/sustainability, transport consultants; and project managers.
St James’ House will support Birmingham’s growth aspirations, supporting both jobs and visitors to the city, while debuting international hotel brand, Residence Inn by Marriott. The hotel is expected to open in early 2023.
Becky Dewey, Associate Director, Planning Consultancy at WSP, said: “It’s fantastic to secure permission for a commercially viable scheme for an internationally renowned hotel brand. This scheme will support Birmingham’s growth and investment ambitions, providing jobs and a city centre location for visitors to stay. It’s also great that St James’ House will be so close to our Mailbox office and we look forward to seeing work start on site.”
Ross Ogilvie, Associate Director at Cartwright Pickard said: “Following a thorough review of the existing building fabric, a difficult decision was made to remove the pre-cast facades, but to retain the in-situ concrete elements where possible.
This highly technical solution developed with the team enables both an acoustic and structural separation from the music venue. The new-build addition has been designed to achieve the client’s and Marriott International’s detailed brief and maximise offsite manufacture. The building’s elevations have been designed as a nod to the original modular facades, using sustainable and robust materials whilst working contextually.”
Jiten Nayak, Head of Investments & Strategy at Kenfin Family Office, said: “We are delighted to achieve our planning permission for Birmingham’s first ever Residence Inn by Marriott and are proud to be associated with such a renowned international brand. We are confident, our investments will help develop an iconic asset and look forward to play our part in contributing towards the local business, creating jobs and being part of this landscape with this new venture.”
ENDS
MEDIA CONTACTS
Dan Williams, UK PR Manager, WSP
[email protected] / 07341 681 673
About WSP
As one of the world’s leading engineering professional services consultancies, WSP brings clarity and vision to complex challenges. Our team of technical specialists and strategic advisers across the UK is part of a talented global family of expertise. Together, we ensure innovative solutions solve complex problems for our clients and the communities we serve, meeting both the needs of today and addressing the challenges of the future.
As the largest environmental consultancy in the UK, WSP takes pride in leading the way we collectively tackle the climate emergency. Working collaboratively with industry organisations, WSP co-founded ‘Pledge to Net Zero’ which commits environmental services firms to science-based carbon targets and public reporting.
WSP is on course to become a net zero business by 2025 – an achievement for which we were named Global Good Company of the Year in 2019 – and announced in October 2020 a commitment to halve the carbon footprint of all designs and advice provided to clients by 2030, a first in the engineering consultancy sector.
https://www.wsp.com/en-GB
About Kenfin
Kenfin Family Office is a London-based alternative lending company focused on direct lending + Investments in the United Kingdom & across the global covering Real Estate investment & development. Our Lending + Investments are focused across real estate, hospitality, student accommodation, renewable energy and IT sector. We have lending + Investment history of £1.50+billion over 3 decades.
At Kenfin we are agile by design, unconstrained in approach, bold in our decisions and proud of our expertise.
https://www.kenfin.co.uk/
About Cartwright Pickard
Cartwright Pickard is a research-led architectural practice that has been designing inspirational places to live, work and learn for over 20 years. With studios in Manchester, Leeds and London, they have a clear philosophy: to produce beautiful buildings that use resources responsibly. They have an integrated approach to architecture, technology and construction that delivers the best possible results for clients, building users and wider society.
Responsible for award-winning and pioneering projects such as Murray Grove, the first fully modular apartment building in the UK, Cartwright Pickard have been early adopters of innovations such as Passivhaus and BIM and have an international reputation for the use of offsite construction.
They offer a range of services in addition to architectural design and provide continuity throughout the process of designing, constructing and using buildings, from site-finding, brief-writing and public engagement to masterplanning, interior design and building performance evaluation.