Murdoch & Pitman Chambers Hotel

A Grade II*-listed Corporation Street building that opened in 1896 as Dean's Furniture and the Pitman Vegetarian Hotel — reportedly visited by Gandhi in the 1930s — is being restored into a 156-room, four-star hotel by developers RPGL and Trigram Properties, with £1.8 million in West Midlands Combined Authority funding and BSN Group Construction now appointed to build it. No hotel operator or opening date has been confirmed, and the project's original end-of-2025 target has already slipped.

The place

190 Corporation Street, in Birmingham's city centre, a short walk from the Bullring and the Colmore Business District.

The concept

Murdoch Chambers and the adjoining Pitman Building were built in 1896 by architects J. Crouch and E. Butler for Dean's Furniture and the Pitman Vegetarian Restaurant — named for Sir Isaac Pitman, then vice-president of the Vegetarian Society — which soon expanded into the Pitman Vegetarian Hotel and was reportedly still trading when Mahatma Gandhi visited Birmingham in the 1930s. Hotel use ended decades ago; the Grade II*-listed building has since cycled through office use and long stretches of vacancy. MP DEVCO, a joint venture between developers RPGL and Trigram Properties, holds planning and listed-building consent to restore the original façade and add an 11-storey rear extension, reopening the building as a 156-room, four-star hotel and creating an estimated 70 jobs. West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker's combined authority has committed £1.8 million toward the scheme, and BSN Group Construction has been named preferred contractor, but no hotel brand or operating company has been announced, and the construction start date has slipped more than once since the 2022 planning consent.

Dining & wellness

Not yet detailed — no operator has been named, so food-and-beverage concepts for the restored building have not been announced.