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post updated 15 May 2025

15 May 2025
Coventry University redevelopment of former Civic Centre

Coventry University is planning a massive redevelopment which could bring a hotel, shops and hundreds of new homes to a high-profile site in the city centre.

The site of the former Civic Centre, which sits opposite the Council House and was most recently the Assembly Festival Gardens, will have new life breathed into it after the university identified VINCI UK Developments and ION Developments as the preferred bidders for the scheme which will also create new jobs.

The university said it wants the large site to bring community benefits as well as a significant economic boost to the city.

The vision for the multi-million-pound transformation includes community related projects linked to other public services, alongside high-quality residential property, hotels and retail use, linked together by exceptional public spaces.

Artist’s impression of how the city centre site could look once developed:

image courtesy of Coventry University

The announcement comes just weeks after Coventry University Group revealed it had seen planned investment by partners in the university’s branch and branded campuses around the world over the last five years hit £1 billion. This includes campuses in Egypt, Morocco, China, Kazakhstan, Singapore and now India.

The university’s last development in Coventry was the Delia Derbyshire building, which was also designed with a community focus and has been named the Royal Institute of British Architects West Midlands Building of the Year.

Professor John Latham CBE, Vice-Chancellor of Coventry University, said: “This is a prime site in Coventry city centre and we want to see it used for something that will benefit the university and the city as a whole, which was at the forefront of our choice of preferred development partners for the scheme.

“The site was originally bought pre-pandemic to become the home for our research and administration functions – since then we have seen significant change in how we use our campus estate and engaged with our partners at Coventry City Council, Arts Council and British Council on the City Centre Cultural Gateway development.

“That means we can use this site for wider developments that create jobs and add to the prosperity and continued revitalisation of the city and explore partnerships that would add real social value.

“While we are expanding our global footprint, we are committed to all our UK communities and working with partners who can help deliver better futures. In Coventry, we are working with others to deliver energy sustainability by connecting to the city’s district heating system thanks to a government grant, developing a new multi-storey car park and charging grid and the opening of our revamped conference centre facilities on our Technology Park in July. We expect to be able to announce more collaborations in the near future, all with community benefits.”

Artist’s impression of how the city centre site could look once developed

picture courtesy of Coventry University

Graham Lambert, Managing Director at VINCI UK Developments, said: “VINCI UK Developments, in conjunction with our colleagues at ION Developments, is hugely excited to be appointed as preferred developer to collaborate with Coventry University to realise the potential in this amazing location at the heart of Coventry.

“We share the ambition of the university, city council, local community and businesses in seeking to revitalise and reimagine the Civic Centre site, building on the work already done by the university on the scheme. We look forward to bringing forward flexible and diverse spaces – centred on quality of place – to complement the progression and renewal of the wider city core.”

2 May 2025
Coventry University, College of Arts & Society
Design: BDP Architects

photograph © Nick Caville, BDP
Coventry University, College of Arts & Society

Coventry Architecture – Key Buildings

Dates built: 1951-62
Design: Basil Spence architect

photo © David Jamieson
Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral architect : Basil Spence

The Whittle Arch – The Phoenix Initiative, Millennium Plaza
Date built: 2003
Design: MacCormac Jamieson Prichard Architects

photo © webbaviation
Dedicated to the inventor of the jet engine, Sir Frank Whittle (e-architect Editor Adrian Welch’s grandmother’s cousin!).

Coventry Architecture News

23 Sep 2021

Design: Cullinan Studio Architects

photograph © Nick Hufton
Prof Lord Bhattacharyya Building
This project is of a consistently high standard throughout. The brief for the project was complex in bringing together academic and industry research in the same building together to foster innovation and collaboration.

4 Jul 2017

Design: Fraser Brown MacKenna

photograph © Tim Crocker Photography
Coventry Student Residences
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2 Aug 2016
Water Park Building
Design: FaulknerBrowns Architects

image from architect office
Coventry Water Park Building
This new Coventry building has received planning approval. The tight city centre site – adjacent to one of the three spires within the city – informs a design that stacks the accommodation vertically instead of sprawling horizontally.