A retail boost for the UK’s second city

At 250,000 square feet, the new outlet will be one of the John Lewis Partnership’s largest stores outside of London.

As part of the striking Grand Central development, the store will sit above Birmingham New Street station, which has recently benefited from a andpound;600m refurbishment.

This is the latest project for John Lewis, following the reconfiguration of its Kingston department store and several upgrade schemes at its stores in Bristol, Sheffield, Southampton and Reading.

The retailer has also benefited from a commercial office fit out project close to its Victoria Street headquarters in London.

Plans for the development

ISG will fit out four floors of retail space at the Grand Central development, which replaces Birmingham’s former Pallasades shopping centre.

To make the space a high-specification retail environment, ISG intends to install raised access floors at the first floor level.

Ceramic tiles will then be used to cover the majority of the remaining floors.

New lifts will be installed within the building, along with advanced LED lighting and sprinkler systems.

The atrium will also be modified to form an enclosure around the existing staircase and escalators.

Since demolition work to create the new atrium has reached an end, the new Birmingham New Street station and Grand Central shopping destination are nearing completion.

More than 6,000 tonnes of concrete have been removed from under the new atrium, allowing natural light to flood the concourse.

This space was created using a bespoke JCB machine, which was utilised to removed two floors of concrete from the station’s original structure.

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