The Mercian


The Mercian is an under construction 132 metre residential skyscraper on Broad Street, Birmingham, England. It is designed by Glenn Howells Architects, the developer is Moda Living and the main contractor is John Sisk & Son.
The skyscraper will be forty-two storeys in height, consisting of a thirty-nine storey residential building which will sit on a three storey podium with over 30,000 sq ft of communcal amenity space. The build is valued at £183m and is due for completion in June 2022.
The tower will sit perpendicular to the street with the front facing Five Ways. Originally, a helipad was proposed to be located on top of the building on a podium however, in the latest changes, it was removed from the design though the podium remained with some minor changes.
The tower was to be presented before a planning committee in late August 2006 however, the developers pulled out minutes before the meeting to make changes.
The application was presented again on 28 September and whilst it was originally deferred due to lack of information, concerns over height and payment of money under Section 106, it was later approved. The new proposal also boasts a partial redesign increasing the height of the tower and creating a redesigned façade. Construction of the skyscraper began in April 2019.
As of May 2020, The Mercian is the tallest building, outside of London and Manchester, under construction in the United Kingdom. When completed, it will be the second tallest building in Birmingham, after the BT Tower, and will be the tallest building on the street. However, two other approved high-rises for the city, 100 Broad Street and One Eastside, are expected to surpass the height of The Mercian.