Principle to manage new apartments and commercial units in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter

A modern property design company has instructed Principle Estate Management to look after its new mixed-use in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.

Principle will manage Liv Projekt’s units at 1 and 2 Legge Lane which includes nine townhouses, four “live and work” units which the developer is retaining to rent out, and a further commercial unit.

The residential units include one two-bedroomed townhouse marketed at £550,000 and eight three-bedroomed townhouses marketed from £675,000 to £895,000.

Robert Simonds, a partner at Principle who heads the firm’s new build portfolio, said: “We’re delighted to have won this bespoke mixed-use development as Principle’s presence continues to expand within the Jewellery Quarter.

“We have worked closely with Liv Projekt on the set up of the scheme and have advised on a number of management strategy items.

“The first residents have now moved in, and we have now been contracted to manage the development as part of our new build portfolio.”

The Legge Lane development saw Liv Projekt working with award-winning Sjölander da Cruz Architects on a design that reflected the rich history and industrial architecture of the Jewellery Quarter.

Liv Projekt has explained that pen manufacturers, cigarette case makers, jewellery box producers and a safety razor works were just a few of the trades that had been based at 1 and 2 Legge Lane over the last century and a half.

In a brochure about the development, Liv Projekt said: “The Jewellery Quarter is always evolving, but it keeps a unique bustle, sense of purpose and innovation at its heart.

“Legge Lane was at the centre of manufacturing in the area for 150 years and we have had our eye on the site for years.

“A gap in the street with a 1960s factory at the back, it stood out like a sore thumb, and our scheme for now creates a new place and completes the street.

“We started from scratch and designed the houses to make the most of the features of the site.

“Working closely with Sjölander da Cruz Architects, we thought carefully about how people would use the houses, sketching and modelling them to get to grips with the potential of each one becoming a one-off home.

“We care about what we build, for us it’s personal, and we only build places we would want to live in ourselves.”

Principle Estate Management was launched in 2018 by Brett Williams, a past chairman of the Association of Residential Managing Agents who has more than 30 years of experience in the sector.

The company has since grown to look after a portfolio approaching 8,000 units in around 250 developments across the UK