Our West Midlands business review of 2022 moves into the spring months and the news that the future of public transport descended on the region in April.
Called Air-One and looking like something out of a sci-fi movie, the so-called 'vertiport' was 15 months in the making and housed on a car park in Coventry, running demonstrations of what a fully operational hub of its kind could look like.
The facility was said to be a world first and demonstrated how it could operate using so-called eVTOL vehicles (electric vertical take-off and landing) such as air taxis and delivery drones. The airport also had space for on-site retailers to demonstrate how it could generate revenue and become a sustainable business venture.
One of Birmingham's most prominent office buildings was snapped up for a mighty £182 million.
The Colmore Building, previously known as Colmore Plaza, was acquired by US real estate investor Blackstone, the same company which owns The NEC Group and which said the deal demonstrated its long-term conviction in the UK and offices in key European cities.
Four major transport schemes in the West Midlands are set to benefit from a bumper cash injection after £1.3 billion in funding was finalised from both the Department for Transport and local sources.
The first four projects are ten electric vehicle charging stations across the West Midlands, extension of the West Midlands Metro depot in Wednesbury, replacement and upgrade of power supply on the Wolverhampton to Birmingham tram line and the next phase Sprint bus corridor between Solihull and Walsall.
Plans for a new apartment complex reaching 50 storeys in Birmingham were revealed but it was the possible return of one of the city's most famous sons which really caught the eye.
Jewellery Quarter developer Cordia Blackswan is behind the proposed scheme in Thorp Street which would contain 487 units to rent and a sky lounge. But a major talking point of the plans was the proposal to bring Nicholas Monro's famous 1972 King Kong sculpture back to the city. It would stand as a central piece of a new plaza as part of the development.
Birmingham's Perry Barr station reopened to the public in May after undergoing some major facelift work. Sporting a new rusty-brown exterior - which was not to everyone's liking when it was first unveiled - the station was a key piece in the transport jigsaw for the upcoming Commonwealth Games just a few weeks later.
The £31 million project included new facilities such as a ticket office, accessible toilet and baby change area as well as lifts and stairs to the platform.
Fresh plans to breathe new life into a historic yet run-down Birmingham city centre building were revealed after a slew of false starts for the site.
Irish developer Oakmount and sister leisure firm Creative Cedar are behind the project to turn Methodist Central Hall into a mixed-use scheme including a new hotel called The Dean, a restaurant, bar and other commercial units which won consent in July.
There was a shock departure at luxury sports car brand Aston Martin when it was announced chief executive Tobias Moers would leave after just two years in the post.
He has been replaced by Amedeo Felisa who himself sports an impressive CV in the automotive sector, having previously been the chief executive of legendary Italian sports car brand Ferrari. The news came as the Warwickshire manufacturer announced that its pre-tax losses had increased by almost £70 million for the first quarter of 2022.
A £4 billion deal was signed with investment giant Legal & General to kick start regeneration and property projects across the West Midlands.
The scope of the mammoth seven-year plan includes support for housing of all tenures, including social and modular, commercial property and urban regeneration, with the first project called The Junction which will see brownfield land in Oldbury transformed into more than 200 new homes.
The names of two new railway stations in Birmingham were revealed in June. The stations in Moseley and Hazelwell will be called 'Moseley Village' and 'Pineapple Road' respectively when they open on the Camp Hill line in late 2023.
A decision on a third new station being built as part of this £61 million investment, to be called simply Kings Heath, was taken previously.
In one of the less expected corporate buyouts of the year, Walsall FC were acquired by an investment firm based in Birmingham - the Alabama version, that is.
The League Two club agreed a two-stage deal with sports investor Trivela Group which initially saw the company purchase 51 per cent of the shares owned by Walsall chairman Leigh Pomlett alongside a promise of an immediate investment of capital. Walsall later used the new investment to purchase the Poundland Bescot Stadium on which the club had paid rent for decades.
June marked the first anniversary of the birth of Birmingham's controversial Clean Air Zone.
New research published to coincide with it said the number of high-polluting vehicles driving inside the zone had halved in its first year of operation, with leaders citing the stat as a sign of its success. But just a few weeks ago, the city council admitted it had been forced to write off around 45,000 fines without collecting payment as the amount of administration was too much for it to handle.
Completing our look at quarter two is the news that property group CEG returned with new plans for the Ringway Centre in Smallbrook Queensway, Birmingham.
Around 1,800 apartments to rent are set to be built across three buildings of 44, 48 and 56 storeys along with ground-floor commercial and retail units and public squares. It would involve the demolition of the Ringway Centre and replaces a previously consented scheme from 2017 to strip back and reclad the Ringway Centre to create new office and commercial space.
