One of the most ornate buildings in Birmingham city centre is set for a new future after it was sold on by the city council.
Louisa Ryland House, on the corner of Newhall Street and Edmund Street, has been sold to city firm Graftongate in a £7 million deal, according to CoStar News.
Both the market and city residents will be interested to see what happens with the attractive Grade II-listed building which was named after a major benefactor to Birmingham in the 1800s and has been part of city life since 1879 and which adjoins the grade I-listed School of Art.
The Post reported in July the building was being offered up for offices but could also be turned into a mixed-use scheme with conversion to include restaurants, cafes and bars deemed acceptable in principle.
The Post recently reported it had been offered as an alternative location for the Birmingham Conservatoire, which is being knocked down as part of the Paradise Circus development.
The redevelopment opportunity had been expected to fetch in the region of £8 million but CoStar News understands that a planning constraint involving the addition of an extra floor pushed the price down.
Opus Land and Bridges & Evenacre were reportedly the under-bidders.
An office redevelopment of the site would be expected to have a gross development value of around £30 million, market sources said.
The building was most recently used by the city council but has stood largely vacant since 2012.
The building, which underwent a major redevelopment in 1985, has been part of civic life in the city for more than a century.
The site was originally three separate buildings – The Medical Institute, built at 96 Edmond Street in 1879, the Broad School offices at 98 Edmund Street, built in 1881, and the Parish Offices building, at 100-102 Edmund Street and built in 1883.
It underwent major conversion in the 1980s with the façade retained and supported by a modern steel frame structure behind, with reinforced concrete floors with mainly raised access floors, suspended ceilings throughout with timber framed double glazed windows.
The roof is principally of mansard construction with mineral felt roof covering.
Louisa Anne Ryland became a millionaire on the death of her father, Samuel Ryland, whose family fortune was made in the wire drawing industry and went on to make major donations used to create public parks.
The largest of these, donated in 1873, was some 80 acres and became Cannon Hill Park.
The Post has approached Graftongate for comment but is yet to receive a response.
