Hockley Mills completes in Birmingham with a visit from West Midlands Mayor

A total of 395 new apartments have been built at the Hockley Mills Build to Rent scheme in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, now known as Goodsyard.

Sir Robert McAlpine Capital Ventures (SRMCV) invited West Midlands Mayor, Andy Street, to visit the facility, offering insights into the redevelopment of this brownfield site for housing. 

Andy toured the scheme, alongside representatives from SRMCV, Legal & General (L&G) and members from the project team. 

The Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “It was brilliant to visit the Hockley Mills site and see first-hand yet more brownfield land in the West Midlands that has been transformed into quality housing for local people.

“It is schemes like this why our region is leading the way in regenerating brownfield land and getting on with housebuilding – to the extent that we’re now the only UK region on track to meet our housebuilding targets.

“This development was also the first to receive cash from our mega £4billion deal with Legal & General, showcasing how our work with the private sector is coming to fruition for the region.”

Construction began in January 2021, after SRMCV secured the £100 million forward funding deal with Legal & General, on behalf of its Build to Rent Fund (BTR Fund) and Access Development Partnership (a joint venture between Legal & General Capital and PGGM), for the development and appointed sister company, Sir Robert McAlpine, as contractor.

Located on Pitsford Street, Goodsyard provides 395 one, two and three-bedroom apartments alongside a range of amenities for residents, including 30,000 sq. ft. of flexible commercial space for retail and leisure facilities; high-quality amenity space and a dedicated gym; 116 covered parking spaces and 395 bike racks. The development also brings with it a new entrance to access the neighbouring Jewellery Quarter train station.

In operation since August 2023 and managed by property operator Urbanbubble, the homes are letting quickly with 140 apartments already rented. 

Commenting on the project, Chris Lane, development management director at Sir Robert McAlpine Capital Ventures, said: “With this development, we have created new homes that will contribute to the long-term vibrancy and growth of the local community for years to come.

"Having Goodsyard reach practical completion three months ahead of schedule while maintaining our commitment to providing only the highest quality accommodation tops off the resounding success of the project.

"We are immensely grateful to our construction partners and the consultants that have brought Goodsyard to life.”

Dan Batterton, head of residential at LGIM, said: “We’re delighted to reach the completion of Hockley Mills – marking our 14th operational Build to Rent scheme.

"As with all of our schemes, there is a strong focus on lifestyle and resident satisfaction, to deliver higher standards of design, service, and asset management, alongside operational efficiency and sustainability.

“We’re extremely proud of the impact here, bringing an important brownfield site back to life and helping to tackle the supply demand imbalance of housing across the UK.”

Mark Bessey, sector director, Sir Robert McAlpine, said: “We are very proud to have delivered this landmark development of quality accommodations and commercial facilities at the heart of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, which will provide long term benefits for the local community.

"Achieving this vision to such high standards is testament to the technical excellence of the project team and the strong relationship and effective collaboration with Sir Robert McAlpine Capital Ventures and Legal & General.” 

The Mayor’s visit to Hockley Mills was his second. He also visited in May 2022 with Sir Nigel Wilson, then CEO of Legal & General, when the funding partnership committed to invest £4bn in regeneration, housing and levelling up across the West Midlands.