Cole Waterhouse and Taurus Investment Holdings LLC, a US-based global private equity real estate firm through its UK arm, Taurus RE Investment Ltd (Taurus UK), have completed on the formation of a second joint venture partnership to bring forward a key development site in Digbeth, Birmingham.
Upper Trinity Street (UTS), is a £260 million mixed-use scheme which will deliver 943 new homes and a new public park for Birmingham.
Taurus, has been operating for over 45 years in the multifamily, office, logistics, mixed-use, and renewable energy sectors, through its recently launched UK footprint, Taurus UK.
The completion of the joint venture follows the purchase of the site by Cole Waterhouse in October 2022 with debt facility provider Ingenious and Auxillium Real Estate acting as debt broker.
The joint venture now intends to appoint an investment agent and seek institutional funding partners to deliver the first two phases of the development which will transform the 5.2 acre industrial site into an exciting cultural, commercial and residential scheme with permanent homes for the Pat Benson Boxing Academy, the Museum of Youth Culture and the Birmingham Music Archive. It will also include the creation of Pump House Park which will sit alongside the canal and the historic lock keepers cottage which will be retained.
Peter A. Merrigan, CEO of Taurus Investment Holdings said: “Today’s announcement is another step in meeting the UK’s growing demand for value-add development opportunities. We’re pleased to work with Cole Waterhouse once again to address Birmingham’s housing shortage. Birmingham is an exciting place to invest as it represents one of the UK’s strongest regional economies, is a destination of choice for students, and has proven the ability to retain extensive growth thanks to the presence of industries, like technology, finance and media.”
Nick Jacobs Managing Director of Taurus UK said: “Cole Waterhouse has designed another great scheme and we are delighted to be working with them once again on a second high quality venture. It allows us to continue our focus on investing equity in development and investments in the UK, despite the difficult economic headwinds that 2022 presented. We continue to have a pipeline of interesting projects coming forward and choose to work with best in class partners such as Cole Waterhouse.”
Designed by Corstorphine & Wright, UTS will deliver a blend of rentable and open market sales homes, some with live-work space and roof gardens, a 133-bedroom hotel, 60,000 sq ft of flexible commercial space, car parking and large new areas of public realm across a network of landscaped yards, squares and hidden spaces.
The development is expected to create 600 jobs during the construction phase and up to 313 additional jobs once built.
Speaking about the acquisition, Damian Flood, CEO at Cole Waterhouse commented: “This is our second joint venture with Taurus and we are excited that they have selected Cole Waterhouse and UTS as their second BTR targeted development in the UK. There is continued confidence in the UK’s growing BTR market and we’re looking forward to building on this relationship with Taurus as we bring the development forward.”
He continued: “There has been a huge collaborative effort from the stakeholders including the City Council, the local community of Digbeth, the Canal & River Trust and our project team and I would like to thank everyone for supporting our vision and for their unwavering commitment to the delivery of UTS.”