How City Council's new £40million headquarters will look...

[dutchman]

These are the first images of how Coventry City Council’s new £40million base at Friargate will look.



The impressive 13-storey office block will be the first building at the new development, with work expected to start next month.

It is expected to take two years to build the new offices – as well as some public realm and infrastructure work.

The 150,000 sq ft red brick complex will accommodate all council workers – with the existing council house remaining as a base for councillors and council meetings.

It is believed the brick colour has been chosen to reflect the local pink or red sandstone in many existing city centre buildings, including Coventry Cathedral.

The new-look building has been praised by local leaders, who say they are thrilled with the design of the council’s new base.

Coun Ann Lucas, leader of Coventry City Council, said: “For me, this new council house has the wow factor.

“I like the colour of the building as I feel it is incredibly important that we tie in some of the historical parts of the city to this new development.

“It obviously needs to be functional, but you also want the new building to be attractive. And as other buildings come along, they will complement each other but be different in design.

“We want people to look at the Friargate development and be impressed with what they see and looking at these images, I think they will be. I am thrilled to see Friargate taking shape.”

The multi-million pound regeneration scheme has attracted a lot of interest from investors and will also be home to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which will move its UK headquarters to the second building at the city’s landmark project.

It has also been confirmed that negotiations are underway with a second tenant for the second building – which could mean work on the building will be completed by 2017.

Work is currently being carried out on the new pedestrian boulevard into the city centre and is due to be completed later this spring.

Once finished, the pedestrian boulevard will provide a landscaped pathway for people walking between the railway station and the city centre.

[rebbonk]

£40m that could have been saved

[dutchman]

Giant crane to become a fixture of Coventry city centre for a year



Coventry has a new addition to its skyline in the shape of a giant crane which is set to be a dominant city centre feature for the next 12 months.

The 98-metre-tall tower crane has been installed at the Friargate regeneration scheme ahead of the first phase of development on the site.

Believed to be the tallest freestanding structure in the city, it is eight metres taller than Coventry Cathedral’s spire and even needed Air Traffic Control approval.

The crane is due to stay on site for a year and over the weeks ahead will be busy loading construction materials into the central core of Friargate’s first building, paving the way for the steelwork to start.

The building being constructed is a 13-story office block, designed by architects Allies and Morrison, which will house a large portion of Coventry council’s office-based staff from 2017.

It will be the first of 14 grade A office blocks on the 37-acre development, alongside two hotels, homes and shops. In total the Friargate site will be home to 25 new buildings.

It will feature a mix of commercial, civic, leisure, residential and hotel space.

Stephen Reynolds, from development firm Friargate Coventry, said: “The arrival of the crane means the public will soon be able to see the first building taking shape, paving the way for the rest of Friargate - a business-led scheme that will deliver a vibrant new area around the train station and attract new businesses, jobs and visitors.”

Counc Ann Lucas, leader of Coventry council, added: “I’m delighted to see this huge new crane at Friargate – it’s one of many across the city’s skyline and a real symbol of how much work is underway at the moment.

“Successful cities are always growing and changing and creating more jobs for local people will help us become a top ten city once again.

“Our building is the first at Friargate but over the next ten years or so up to 15,000 new jobs will be created.”

Located between Coventry railway station and the city centre, one of the key aims of Friargate is to improve pedestrian access and create an attractive new gateway to the city.

[dutchman]

Work on Coventry City Council's new office building is underway



Work on Coventry City Council’s new 13-storey office building is underway.

Friargate is transforming 37 acres around the Coventry rail station in a multi-million pound development.

The council’s office building is the first to go up at the site and will be ready by 2017.

Stephen Reynolds, of Friargate Coventry LLP, the partnership working on the new district, said the city had seen little office development.

He said: “This will be a modern, high specification building of a quality that’s not been seen in Coventry.”

New pedestrian areas and 25 new buildings – including offices, two hotels, homes and shops – are being built, creating 15,000 new jobs.

The demolition of the final building, Station Tower, has now been completed.

The work on the former office block began in October last year.

[Melisandre]

Any one know the actual area spot where this is being built is it where the old station tower was?

[dutchman]

Second Friargate tower block to bring rooftop garden and cafes – but no tenant yet



A SECOND tower block with pavement cafes and a garden rooftop is being planned for the long-awaited Friargate office development next to Coventry station – but a tenant to occupy it has yet to be announced.

Developers have unveiled how the second office block would look, while announcing they have submitted a detailed planning application to Coventry City Council.

But they and the council are tightlipped on negotiations over who might occupy the second building.

Friargate is now around a decade in the planning and the only tenant confirmed so far is Coventry City Council.

It will move its offices from traditional city centre locations into the first new 13-storey Friargate tower block now being built.

It can be viewed from a new walkway from the station towards the city centre, which opened earlier this month, and is scheduled to be completed next year.

The second planned block is a 14-storey building which will feature restaurant/café space to “create a lively frontage onto the newly-opened pedestrian boulevard in Station Square, and a large garden terrace on the southern side of the eighth floor”, say architects for developers Friargate Coventry LLP.

They say a glazed pavilion at the top level will offer far-reaching views across the city in all directions.

A council spokesperson said today no second tenant had yet been confirmed.

A spokesperson for the developer said in response to Observer questions: “The building is being constructed speculatively. No tenant has been confirmed.”

[dutchman]

New faces set to welcome visitors to Coventry as part of Friargate development



Commuters and visitors to Coventry are set to be welcomed to the city by some new local faces as part of the ongoing Friargate development.

Since March the Rev David Mayhew, student Romain, and Sam – from Friargate contractors Bowmer & Kirkland – have been featured on the hoardings surrounding the One Friargate development site, which looks out onto the Station Square boulevard.

Now a new group of Coventry people have been selected to feature on the Friargate hoardings with their faces displayed alongside a short statement about why they love the city.

The new faces will continue to greet the 17,000 people who use Coventry train station every day.

Cynthia, Rishard and Sabir volunteered to have their photographs taken for the hoardings through the #YourCov campaign on social media.

Sabir, Rishard and Cynthia will feature at Friargate over the coming months as work on the first building accelerates, with cladding currently being installed following the recent completion of the steel frame.

Stephen Reynolds, of Friargate Coventry, said: “Friargate is a development for the people of Coventry not just businesses, tourists or the council.

“We are creating fantastic new public spaces that have opened well ahead of the new buildings, as part of our aim to deliver for the whole city.

“Joining up with such remarkable local people to promote Coventry, as well as what we are doing at Friargate, is a real pleasure.

“I’m delighted that Rishard, Cynthia and Sabir will be welcoming people to the area.”

[rebbonk]

I'm sorry, but that would put me right off!

[Melisandre]

Waste of money which could be better spent on services.

Are these the only friendly faces left in Coventry then or are they masquerading the fact you might have to duck and dive a drive by shooting or stabbed once your in the city streets or even mugged .

When I enter any city I want to see a nice open view not billboards .

What eye sore is this covering up I wonder.

[dutchman]

On the plus side the hoardings could be a darn site more attractive than the buildings going up behind them?