One Centenary Square (formerly Two Arena Central), is a , eleven storey building between
Alpha Tower
Alpha Tower is a Grade II listed office skyscraper in Birmingham, England. It was designed by the Birmingham-born architect George Marsh of Richard Seifert & Partners as the headquarters of the commercial television company ATV (Associated T ...
and the former
Birmingham Municipal Bank headquarters
The former headquarters of the Birmingham Municipal Bank is a Grade II listed building by Thomas Cecil Howitt opposite what is now Centenary Square at 301 Broad Street, Birmingham, England.
The building was opened on 27 November 1933 by Pri ...
on
Broad Street in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The building serves
HSBC Bank HSBC Bank may refer to any one of the following principal local banks or divisions of the HSBC Group:
Asia-Pacific
* HSBC (Hong Kong)
** PayMe, its local payment service
* HSBC Bank (China)
* HSBC Bank Australia
* HSBC Bank India
* HSBC Bank Mala ...
as their UK headquarters for the personal and business banking operations.
HSBC
In 2015
HSBC Bank HSBC Bank may refer to any one of the following principal local banks or divisions of the HSBC Group:
Asia-Pacific
* HSBC (Hong Kong)
** PayMe, its local payment service
* HSBC Bank (China)
* HSBC Bank Australia
* HSBC Bank India
* HSBC Bank Mala ...
completed the deal to forward purchase the building on a 250-year lease which will house UK business and personal banking services with up to 1,000 staff. The deal is the largest property deal in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
since 2002.
History of the site
The development of the site started when the
Birmingham Canal
The BCN Main Line, or Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line is the evolving route of the Birmingham Canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton in England.
The name ''Main Line'' was used to distinguish the main Birmingham to Wolverhampton rout ...
was cut in 1768–72. Its terminal basin, named Old Wharf, was located at the rear of the proposed building. The site was occupied by the Eagle Iron Foundry during the 19th century up until 1926 when it was cleared and replaced by the Masonic Hall. The building formed the southern part of the Civic Centre masterplan with the
Municipal Bank built in 1933 to its west. The Freemasons occupied the hall until 1939 when it was acquired by the government during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
to be used by the Ministry of Food and the War Office for Army Recruitment. The hall was later adapted in the 1970s to form part of the
ATV studio complex. The hall was demolished in 2006 ahead of the proposed Arena Central development project.
Construction
![TwoArenaCentral2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/TwoArenaCentral2017.jpg)
On 7 September 2015, representatives from Miller Developments undertook a groundbreaking ceremony to signal the start of the construction phase.
Works were complete in autumn 2018.
See also
*
HSBC lions
Various headquarters and branch buildings of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (and later the HSBC Group) feature a pair of lion sculptures. The HSBC lions have become distinctive landmarks in their own right in Hong Kong and Shangha ...
Notes
{{coord, 52.4787, -1.9070, display=title, region:GB-BIR_scale:2000
Proposed buildings and structures in Birmingham, West Midlands
Centenary Square, Birmingham
HSBC
HSBC buildings and structures