The last piece of concrete has been laid at Dandara Living’s brand-new build-to-rent development, U&A (Unity & Armouries) on Bromsgrove Street, Birmingham.

U&A will bring 162 one, two, and three bedroom apartments to central Birmingham alongside co-working spaces, lounges, a gym and fitness studio, as well as outdoor spaces for relaxation and socialising.

Part of Dandara Living’s work at U&A involves giving a new lease of life to Unity House, a building dating back to the 19^th century. The restored façade of Unity House will sit alongside a brand-new building, together allowing U&A to be a true combination of old and new. Construction of the concrete frame began in July 2021, with the development expected to be ready for resident occupation in Summer 2023.

Councillor Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “I’m delighted to see the scale of progress being made at Dandara Living’s landmark U&A development. They are making great use of the Unity House site, which has been vacant for many years.

“The regeneration of this brownfield site contributes to the wider urban revival of the area. It represents a significant investment into Birmingham’s City Centre while offering a different choice for residents who are keen to live in purpose-built rented accommodation at the heart of a vibrant community. I look forward to seeing residents moving to the development next year.”

U&A is situated just south of Birmingham City Centre, near to the popular Gay Village and Chinese Quarter, home to a large number of vibrant restaurants, bars and other amenities.

Jim Davies, Managing Director BTR at Dandara Living, said: “Dandara Living was born out of our ambition to deliver excellent places to live that reflect the way people want to live today, and U&A perfectly embodies this.

“Birmingham is an ideal fit for us – as the UK’s second largest city, it is home to the largest number of start-ups outside of London, and a unique and exciting cultural offering which makes it one of the UK’s most popular places to live and work.

“U&A will be a vibrant and inclusive community for residents to work, live and play and we look forward to welcoming residents to the development next year.”

U&A has environmental sustainability at its core. The former brownfield site has been fully remediated – effectively recycling the land and contributing to the delivery of new high-quality homes in Birmingham without the need to build on greenfield land elsewhere. From its Local Growth Fund programme, Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) provided a £855,000 Unlocking Stalled Housing Sites grant for land remediation, arrangement, security & monitoring costs.

Henriette Breukelaar, Acting CEO, Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) commented: “Over the last 11 years, GBSLEP has supported local councils and businesses to unlock and revitalise commercial and residential development sites across the city-region. This has been critical to delivering our mission to deliver inclusive economic growth.

“This latest project is another example of how our triple helix structure of public, private and education partners is creating better places for our local communities to visit, work and importantly live in. Combining this with wider investments like our £8.7 million Enterprise Zone funding, Southside is continuing to transform into a vibrant, welcoming area of our city.”

The development’s concrete construction reduces the building’s embodied energy and carbon footprint by shortening the overall build programme and reducing the number of deliveries to site, saving transport miles. The development exceeds current building regulations by approximately 10%, and features energy efficient windows fitted throughout; dual flush toilets, flow reducing taps and shower heads to help reduce water usage; low energy lighting in all apartments and PIR motion sensor lighting in all communal areas to reduce energy usage.

U&A expands Dandara Living’s residential offer in Birmingham, which already includes Aston Place – completed in 2020. Looking to the future, Dandara Living’s emerging Warners Fields development will be one of the greenest neighbourhoods in Birmingham, comprising 3,000 homes with construction works scheduled to begin in 2023.

For more information and to register your interest, please visit: U&A · Dandara Living (dandarabtr.com).