Nikal’s John Mofatt looks back at the last 12 months in the life of Birmingham’s Eastside

Well, what can I say?

Just a year after the Birmingham Post published its Eastside – A New Beginning supplement, we have seen phenomenal growth and development in the area, both in new developments taking shape on the ground and in the level of excitement and anticipation of what is still to come.

With a combination of open spaces ripe for development, proximity to the existing city core, established destinations such as Millennium Point, the Bullring and Moor Street station, Eastside represents an opportunity for the city to create something truly spectacular.

A sizeable part of the Birmingham Big City Plan, Eastside represents Birmingham’s greatest potential in terms of future development and has, of course, already claimed a number of successes.

Our own multi-award winning Hive residential development, which was named the UK’s Best High Rise Development at the 2011 UK Property Awards, was one of the first of a wave of new buildings to be completed in the area. Since we opened the sales office just over a year ago, interest in Hive has been nothing short of extraordinary with sales currently accounting for circa half of total apartment sales in Birmingham.

Purchasers have been quick to highlight that – aside from the quality of the apartments - the building’s location has been a key factor in their decision to buy at Hive. In fact, many of our earliest purchasers have now found themselves in possession of an unexpected park view, as Birmingham City Council presses ahead with the £12m development of the brand new Eastside City Park.

The first public park to be built in the city for over 130 years, it is clear to see how the vision for this beautifully designed space is beginning to unfold, ahead of its completion in December 2012. Spanning 6.75 acres, City Park will provide Eastside with a beautiful focal point.

Our newest neighbour, Hotel La Tour, is already being lauded as one of the city’s key hotels and represents the first in what is envisaged as a chain of four-star concept hotels. Hotel La Tour’s dynamic design, with cutting edge, contemporary elegance throughout, seamlessly encapsulated through the building’s stunning main lobby and sumptuous dining room, perfectly captures the spirit of Eastside, creating something that is both a unique and contemporary 21 st Century development.

There are, of course, also a wealth of additional developments, projects and schemes that are still in the pipeline and set for delivery across the next few years.