A new image has been released to showcase a potential new hotel as part of investment and development opportunities around Wolverhampton’s growing Interchange Commercial District.

Key city centre sites including Interchange 8 and a hotel offer, Banana Yard, Steam Mill and Sackworks are being promoted to hundreds of investors, funders, developers and housebuilders at UKREiiF (May 16-18) in Leeds this week.

All the opportunities are located at the heart of the city centre’s award-winning £150million transport Interchange connecting train, tram, bus and cycle at a key gateway to Wolverhampton.

Interchange 8 on Broad Street focuses on delivering the city’s largest office development at Interchange as a net zero carbon scheme giving it the best environmental credentials of any building in the city. Its predecessors, the recently completed i9 and i10 have been runaway success stories – attracting blue-chip businesses to Wolverhampton, setting new building standards and generating hundreds of jobs.

Proposals for the northern part of the Interchange 8 site include the delivery of a 153-bed high-quality hotel to satisfy strong underlying demand driven by Wolverhampton’s diverse cultural, tourism and business offer and events programme.

The Banana Yard, next to the new railway station and fronting the canal, provides a leisure/commercial opportunity at the centre of an integrated regional road, rail and tram hub.

Steam Mill and Sackworks are two key sites neighbouring the railway station in the ownership of the Wolverhampton Interchange Partnership. Together they provide the opportunity for over 163 apartments, and office and leisure-led development adjacent to the city’s historic canal. Their location at the gateway to the city’s wider Canalside South area offers the potential to introduce improved connectivity linking new residential populations with the Commercial District.

City of Wolverhampton Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for City Economy, Councillor Stephen Simkins, said: “The Wolverhampton Investment Prospectus presents an ambitious vision of how the city can grow – highlighting opportunities to build on the levels of public and private sector investment already on site or in the pipeline in Wolverhampton.

“Wolverhampton has the potential around the transport Interchange to grow its office offer by up to 87,000m² net office space over ten years. This would allow the city to capitalise on its location and connectivity as a commercial office quarter of regional significance.

“These schemes provide us with the opportunity to deliver further strategic regeneration in the city centre supporting jobs, the commercial offer, housing delivery, business rates and council tax as well as wider impacts of vibrancy and footfall.

“We have an excellent record of strong partnership working to deliver major regeneration schemes and the city’s pathfinder status referenced in the February 2022 Levelling Up White Paper reinforces Wolverhampton as the city of opportunity.”

Chris Jones, Associate Development Director, at the council’s Interchange development partner, ION Developments, added: “Now is the time to build on the success of the Interchange generally and the strength of the tenants that we secured at i9. 

“We are currently developing proposals for Interchange 8 - a new hotel and a residential/leisure development adjacent to the Interchange with views of the canal.

“Interchange is a great example of public and private sector collaboration working at its best.”

IMAGE CAPTION: A computer generated image aerial view of Interchange 8 neighbouring i9, i10 and the city centre transport hub