Rackhams Place: 500 homes and offices planned for former department store

Plans have been unveiled to replace the former Rackhams department store in Birmingham city centre with a mixed-use development of more than 500 homes, offices, shops and a new linear park.

Developer Sphere Group has opened a public consultation on Rackhams Place, which would replace the old Rackhams building, most recently House of Fraser, along with its neighbours One Temple Row and 43 Temple Row, opposite St Philip's Cathedral.

What is proposed

• More than 500 new homes
• 226,000 sq ft of offices
• Food, drink and shops at street level
• A linear park created by widening and greening Cherry Street

Sphere, a Birmingham-based developer acting for the site's freehold owner Legal and General, says the project could create around 1,300 jobs and £350 million of development value. It forms part of the council's Birmingham Central Heart vision to transform 42 acres of under-used shops and offices in the city centre.

Share your memories

"We're a local developer, passionate about our city, and we fully recognise how much Rackhams has been a part of Birmingham's history," said Thomas Taylor, managing director of Sphere Group.

The developer is asking people to share their memories of Rackhams, which it plans to collect and celebrate. The plans are online, and comments will be considered before a planning application is submitted.