VISUALS: Hungarian real estate developer Futureal to build Birmingham’s first purpose-built shared living environment

Cordia UK, a member of Futureal Group, one of Europe’s largest property development companies, has announced planning approval of a first-of-its-kind shared living scheme in Birmingham.

The landmark development will create the city’s first purpose-built shared living environment. Reimagining the HMO concept, Bradford Works will offer 54 self-contained en-suite studio units with well separated, generously sized living and sleeping areas. Boasting the feel of a junior hotel suite, residents will be able to retreat from the various shared amenities and enjoy real privacy.

State-of-the-art communal areas will include modern lounges, professional grade kitchens, dining areas, workspaces, a multi-purpose fitness studio, and a landscaped roof terrace, designed to encourage sharing and collaboration between residents, creating a community of likeminded people with sociability and wellbeing at the core.

Sitting at the corner of Barr Street and Harford Street, the project will see the refurbishment of an existing Jewellery Quarter building, with a focus on maintaining and enhancing the heritage of the local area. Bradford Works will place sustainability at the core, as a 100% A-rated energy-efficient development.

The project has been designed specifically for Birmingham’s growing population of young professionals, post-graduate students, and freelancers, with research by Cordia UK showing that this target demographic represents around 800,000 people in the Midlands alone.

Furthermore, the research found that in 2022, 22.6% of Birmingham’s households were privately rented, with this figure predicted to rise to 26% over the next five years. In the city centre, 56% of households are privately rented, and this is forecasted to rise to 63%.

Of the 56,000 people that moved to Birmingham internationally or from other local authorities in the UK in 2023, 18,000 relocated from London and other major cities – demonstrating the increasing demand for rental accommodation.

All of the units in Bradford Works will be affordable homes, in line with the West Midlands Combined Authority’s income linked definition of affordability.

Andras Kárpáti, CEO of Cordia UK, said: “We are delighted to have received planning approval for Bradford Works. The first of its kind in Birmingham, the development will provide much needed housing for the city’s young professionals, post-graduates and freelancers.