Estates Gazette has an exclusive first look of Brockton Capital & Milligan Retail’s revamped Mailbox mixed use scheme in Birmingham, ahead of the official opening of the 614,000 sq ft building in late spring.
We speak to Milligan Retail’s creative navigator Paul Hanegraaf, who talks us through the vision for the £50m transformation, which includes remodelling the space within the 11 year old centre, creating a new Harvey Nichols store which has doubled in size to 45,000 sq ft, an urban room housing a host of new international retailers, champagne bar, 50,000 sq ft of new office space and a 12,000 sq ft Everyman Cinema which opened this week.
Although known for its luxury retail offer, bars, restaurants, hotels and apartments, the UK’s 2nd biggest mixed-use building suffered from low retail footfall and desperately needed substantial investment in public realm enhancements. Most of the retail has been closed since July 2013, with only the original, smaller, Harvey Nichol’s store and Armani Exchange remaining open throughout this period.
