Historic Birmingham building to house student flats
A Grade II -listed office building vacant for more than seven years in the heart of the Colmore Business District is set to be converted into student accommodation.
New plans have been lodged to transform the 111-year-old complex at 89-91 Cornwall Street into 26 studio apartments.
The four-storey property was bought by applicant Baljit Bhandal in 2008 while empty and has since been marketed for leasing without success, according to submitted documents.
It was previously home to accountancy firm Wenham Major but this was part of a group which fell into administration in 2008.
The plot is now set to be given a new lease of life as studios with shared communal kitchens and other facilities in a project designed by Shropshire-based architectural practice Arrol & Snell.
The application site counts office buildings and the Birmingham and Midland Institute among its immediate neighbours.
It also sits very close to the University College Birmingham campus around Newhall Street and Summer Row and is around 20 minutes’ walk from the Aston University and Birmingham City University in the eastern part of the city centre.
The property dates back to 1904 and was designed by Charles Edward Bateman who was known for his arts and crafts-style houses…