The Mailbox opens in the old sorting office

The Mailbox, a new development of shops, restaurants, hotels, offices and apartments, has opened in the former Royal Mail sorting office in Birmingham city centre.

The £150 million scheme opened in December, transforming a building that was once the largest in the city into one of its most fashionable destinations.

From letters to luxury

The sorting office was completed in 1970, replacing the Victorian head post office in Victoria Square. When it opened, it was the largest mechanised letters and parcels sorting office in the country, with a floor area of 20 acres, and the biggest building in Birmingham.

A tunnel under Severn Street linked the building to New Street station, allowing mail to be moved directly between the trains and the sorting office.

When Royal Mail decided to leave the building, it was seen by many as a problem. But the developer Alan Chatham saw its potential, and bought it in 1998 for £3 million through his new company, the Birmingham Development Company.

A new kind of building

The building has been almost completely rebuilt, with only the steel frame of the old sorting office kept. It has been designed by the Birmingham practice Associated Architects.

The development includes designer shops, restaurants, bars, two hotels, offices and a health club, with apartments built above by Crosby Homes. Among the retailers is the luxury department store Harvey Nichols, whose arrival has been seen as a sign of Birmingham's growing appeal to upmarket brands.

A new public square has been created at the front of the building, and at the back, restaurants and bars look out over the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, with a walkway leading to Gas Street Basin.

Part of a changing city

Chatham was an important figure in the development of Brindleyplace, the canalside scheme of offices, restaurants and public squares that has transformed the area around Broad Street. The Mailbox extends that transformation to the south side of the city centre.

Together with Brindleyplace, the International Convention Centre and Symphony Hall, it is helping to change the image of a city once known mainly for concrete and ring roads.

What comes next

More phases of the development are planned, and the Mailbox is expected to attract more businesses and residents over the coming years. The developers hope it will become one of the city's leading destinations for shopping and dining.

The opening comes as work continues on the redevelopment of the Bull Ring, where the 1960s shopping centre is being demolished to make way for a new centre. Together, the two schemes promise to transform shopping in Birmingham.

Christmas shoppers

The Mailbox has opened in time for Christmas, and its stylish design and waterside setting are expected to draw the crowds. Retailers are hoping it will attract visitors from across the region who might otherwise go to London for designer shopping.

For a building that once handled millions of letters a day, the Mailbox has become a very different kind of hub.