EDG Property has acquired a landmark building in the heart of Coventry as it makes its first foray into the city currently enjoying a major renaissance on back of the success of its universities and companies like Jaguar Land Rover.

The building near the city’s famous Belgrade Theatre has been the home of a major Co-op store for more than half a century but the retailer decided to sell the building and focus on its other stores in the city.

EDG Property is currently working with a leading architects firm to draw up a proposal for the 140,000 sq ft building and director Neil Edginton said it was an exciting time to be investing in Coventry.

He said: “Coventry is a city with a growing reputation so we are delighted to have been able to acquire a such a prime building in the heart of the city and we very excited about the opportunities it offers.”

Coventry is currently experiencing unprecedented investment with Coventry University alone investing several hundred million in its city centre campus and student accommodation.

In the last two months major student schemes – one behind the Belgrade Theatre and the other on the site of the old sorting office – have been announced and in total there are more than 5,000 student units either in planning or under construction within a mile of the city centre.

Other developments of note include the Friargate scheme next to Coventry station that is set to be the new home of Coventry City Council and the national headquarters of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

The city is also developing a new restaurant quarter around the soon to be revamped Cathedral Lanes development which will include a Las Iguanas and Cosy Club and potentially a new Wagamamas.

Neil added: “Coventry is starting to fulfill its significant potential and we are seeing investors beginning to flock to the city to take advantage of city centre that is wanting to thrive again.

“The strong reputations of the city’s universities is bringing greater numbers of students to the city who are playing a key part in driving the local economy, not just in term time but all year round as they increasingly decide to put their roots down and make the city their home.

“There is also a real can-do attitude in the city when it comes to grasping the opportunities on offer, which is being driven by a hugely ambitious city council that is determined to put Coventry back on the map.”

With the cladding complete and the picture windows now in place – it is not difficult to see why The School Yard apartments were all sold off-plan.

Set for completion in November, the residential apartments will complete a two-phase scheme in the heart of Harborne Village in Birmingham, which has already won a string of awards from such diverse organisations from the Birmingham Civic Society to the RICS.

EDG director Neil Edginton said everyone’s focus was now completing the project on time and getting the new residents moved in so that they can enjoy their first Christmas in the scheme.

He said: “Now that the zinc cladding has been applied, the development is starting to look like the CGI images we produced at the beginning of this process and which ultimately the buyers saw and decided that it was somewhere they wanted to live.

“Work is now focused on the interiors of the apartments and now that the windows are in you can really begin to understand the impact of the huge picture windows in the apartments in terms of the light and the great views they offer across Harborne.

“The project remains on time and completion is planned for later this year.   We are looking forward to welcoming residents to their new homes so that they can enjoy Christmas at The School Yard. It has been an exciting process for EDG delivering this residential scheme and we plan to announce further new projects in the very near future.”