A number of opportunities have opened up for the development of a Wolverhampton brewery, with contractors who are interested in working on the redevelopment invited to a ‘market engagement event’.

The old Springfield Brewery site in the centre of the city has been bought by the University of Wolverhampton with a view of developing it into a specialisation hub for the construction and build environment.

It is hoped that the development will provide a catalyst for a larger regeneration of the local area, which will begin with the opening of the West Midlands Construction UTC in November this year, soon followed by the opening of the Elite Centre for Manufacturing Skills in June next year.

In the next few weeks, the university will be going out to tender to look for a design and build contractor to go into partnership with the university as it seeks to deliver the School of Architecture & Built Environment (SOABE) site in 2019.

The SOABE development will comprise of an 8,250 m2 gross internal area and will comprise of a refurbishment of the existing building as well as a new build element.

The SOABE project’s construction value is around £20 million and the arranged contract award date is February next year, with construction to be complete two years after that ahead of the planned opening in summer 2019.

Contractors are being encouraged to attend the market engagement event to learn more about the development on Wednesday June 29 from 8.30am to 10.30am at the University of Wolverhampton.

The University of Wolverhampton hopes that the new building will be both efficient and iconic in terms of the use of space and the integration of old and new aspects of the site.

Taking into account the new build, refurbishment and fit out elements, the project has been given a BREEAM rating of ‘very good’.