page_title: Snowhill
section_title: Surroundings
hierarchical_section_title: Snowhill / Site and setting / Surroundings
caption_attribution_description: English: 1 Snow Hill Plaza in Birmingham, England. It is noticeable by the orange facade.
context_page_description: Snowhill is a mixed-use development in the Colmore business district, known historically as Snow Hill, in Central Birmingham, England. The area, between Snow Hill Queensway and Birmingham Snow Hill station, is being redeveloped by the Ballymore Group. The £500 million phased scheme has been partly completed on the site of a former surface car park adjacent to the railway station and West Midlands Metro terminus.
  Phase One: As part of the project, St Chad's Circus on the Inner Ring Road was levelled and reconfigured to create a new square adjacent to St Chad's Cathedral and a viaduct was constructed alongside the station for the extension of the West Midlands Metro into the city centre.
  Phase Two: One Snowhill, a 260,000 sq ft, 57 m tall office building with 13 floors was completed in 2009. The building was acquired by Commerz Real in January 2010. Tenants are KPMG, Barclays and DWF.
  Phase Three: Two Snowhill, at 75 m in height with 14 floors, was completed in May 2013. The building comprises 313,000 sq ft of office space and 8,000 sq ft of ground floor retail space.
context_section_description: There are a number of highrise buildings in the immediate vicinity including 1 Snow Hill Plaza, which is directly opposite the site. Other nearby highrise buildings include Colmore Plaza, on the site of the former Birmingham Post and Mail Building, and Colmore Gate. Shorter buildings include the three office blocks at the entrance to Snow Hill station, Lloyd House – the West Midlands Police headquarters, The Wesleyan building and 1 Colmore Square. Nearby are the Colmore Row and Environs Conservation Area and the Steelhouse conservation area. St Chad's Cathedral is a Grade II* listed building designed by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin.
  The area has close transport links. Snow Hill station is one of the three major railway stations in the city centre and provides through rail services to London Marylebone while the Jewellery Line provides services from Worcester Shrub Hill/Stourbridge Junction to Leamington Spa/Stratford-upon-Avon via Birmingham Moor Street. St Chads tram stop of the West Midlands Metro connects to Wolverhampton. The planned extensions of this line will take the West Midlands Metro on through the city centre to Five Ways and on to Dudley. National Express West Midlands bus services operate along Snow Hill Queensway and Colmore Circus. A coach station was planned for an undeveloped site opposite the rear of Snow Hill station, however, the plans were shelved and the existing Birmingham coach station was redeveloped instead.
caption: 1 Snow Hill Plaza is located on Snow Hill Queensway, directly opposite the Phase 3 site.
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