The social value of developing the four newest major commercial buildings in the centre of Birmingham has been revealed by BAM, the contractor that has built them all.
BAM is coming towards the end of its programme at 103 Colmore Row for Sterling Property Ventures, having also completed Three Snowhill for developer Ballymore, and numbers One and Two Chamberlain Square, for Argent.
The four buildings are separated by a half-mile walk along the business district of Colmore Row.
By the time BAM gives the keys to Sterling Property Ventures for 103 Colmore Row, the schemes will collectively have generated some 40,000 weeks of work for locally employed people, having admitted almost 9,000 people through the biometrically controlled turnstiles already.
That has meant around £60m of orders for central Birmingham companies alone, that have been engaged as sub-contractors and suppliers – a number that grows if the wider Midlands economy is taken into account.
Dave Ellis, BAM’s Midlands regional director, said: “The role construction plays in feeding the economy through employment, training, and local .
“The green credentials of these developments, all being BREEAM Excellent, make them enviable locations for modern employers.
“This demonstrates the role construction has supporting our partners in Government bodies. It helps them to deliver their social and environmental commitments to keep our country Building Back Better. For example, at 103 Colmore Row, the heating and hot water will be supplied by the District Energy Scheme, removing the need for on-site fossil fuel burning boilers.
“What I’m very proud of too, is that our people, and our supply chain, have delivered almost £50,000 of community and charitable benefits alongside at the same time as adding these four impressive structures to the central Birmingham landscape.”
More than 190 apprentices have been engaged on the four new office buildings alone – providing two and a half thousand weeks of training time.
Ellis added: “It is widely known that for every pound spent on construction, some three pounds of further economic activity is generated. A simple example would be the number of small sandwich shops that have supplied our lunches.
“If one took that multiplier, these four office schemes are worth one billion pounds of value to the Birmingham economy, even throughout this terrible pandemic. It’s quite an achievement.”
Occupiers for the offices already include some of Britain’s best-known corporate names – PwC, BT, KPMG, Barclays, Mazars, HS2, DLA Piper, Knights Plc, BDO and Gowlings – with more to come.
“Great buildings draw great occupiers,” Ellis added.
BAM itself occupies self-designed and built premises in Solihull, next to which it created the headquarters for IM Properties.
| Social Value in Birmingham 2016-2021 | One and Two Chamberlain Square | Three Snowhill | 103 Colmore Row | Total |
| Workers Weeks of work | 3,868 12,988 | 2,870 12,816 | 2,082 10,723 | 8,820 36,527 |
| Apprentices Weeks of training | 85 639 | 53 1,199 | 52 618 | 190 2,456 |
| Orders inside 15 miles | 21m | 28.2m | 7.2m | 56.4m |
| Community and charity contributions | £9,860 | £21,840 | £11,480 | £43,200 |
