Team behind Birmingham’s prestigious Paradise apologises for 'current appearance' of one of its ‘landmark’ buildings
The team behind Birmingham’s prestigious Paradise has apologised for the “current appearance” of one of its ‘landmark’ buildings.
Paradise is the £1.2 billion development which has transformed the city centre and attracted new visitors and businesses to the heart of Brum.
A recent social media post from Paradise Birmingham said earlier this month that the project had established a “business home equal to anywhere in Europe” and a place “where the city can come together”.
But the team has this week issued a statement on the appearance of one of its buildings after white patches were seen on the exterior of One Centenary Way.
The building, which overlooks the A38 Queensway, was built as part of Paradise’s second phase and has been described as one of the city’s largest contemporary commercial buildings.
On the white patches, a Paradise spokesperson said current works on the steel frame of One Centenary Way are the preparation works for the repainting of the building frame.
They continued that this is part of the post-construction completion works.
“This is a complex job that takes months to complete by a specialised team but has unfortunately been prolonged with different techniques being used to achieve the most effective solution,” the spokesperson continued.
“The white patches that can be seen are where the steel has been rubbed down and prepared for the final paint coats – it is not peeling off.
“Unfortunately, the process actually makes the appearance look worse before it looks better.”
The Paradise spokesperson went on to say there is a team of 20 “working around the clock” and that “significant progress” is expected to be made by the end of the year “so that the building can look its best”.
They also told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that works will pause during winter months due to temperatures being too low to apply the paint finish.
“There will be some final works on the upper floors next spring,” the spokesperson added. “Once complete, the steel will not require repainting for many years.
“We apologise for its current appearance, but are confident that the final result will have the building back to looking its best.”
Paradise is a public-private partnership, involving the likes of Birmingham City Council, Federated Hermes Private Markets and the Enterprise Zone.
The Paradise website says: “The council’s vision for the future of Birmingham is for a place of inclusive growth, in which every child, citizen and neighbourhood matters.
“Recognising the potential of its city centre landholding led the council to establish the Paradise Birmingham Joint Venture in 2013 to bring forward the Paradise scheme as the UK’s largest city centre redevelopment project.”
