The First World War initiated a huge expansion in the demand for solid tyres for lorries, and the Fort Dunlop factory was built in 1916 on a 120-hectare site on the east side of Birmingham.

Post-war, the motor industry grew and Dunlop was well placed to supply the demand for tyres.

The company was sold in the 1980s and large-scale tyre production ceased at Fort Dunlop after some 70 years.

The factory finally closed in September 2014 after nearly 100 years, with production moving to Germany and France.

[5] Dunlop Aircraft Tyres continue to be manufactured in the only remaining part of the site at what is now called Fort Parkway.

[6] The company Urban Splash acquired the building and the 4.02 hectares (9.9 acres) of land[2] from English Partnerships in 1999 and started work developing proposals in conjunction with Advantage West Midlands, the regional development agency who funded the reclamation of the land.

[8] The landscape designer for the building's setting was Martha Schwartz Inc.[9] By March 2005, all windows and poor quality extensions were removed to reveal the shell.

In August 2006, Urban Splash announced that three retail companies were to move to Fort Dunlop; house accessory specialist Dwell, relocating from the Custard Factory, Snap Galleries and a Birmingham-based coffee outlet named The Daily Grind Coffee Company.

[15] In 2015, Fort Dunlop had over 30 businesses in its office space, including: Trinity Mirror Midlands; Whistle PR; Ford Retail; Skills First; Nicol Thomas; and Overbury.

In 2017, Trinity Mirror Midlands relocated back to Birmingham City Centre having occupied the entire 6th floor of the building – all 53,582 square feet (4,978 m2).

The northern facade is of slightly different architecture from the remainder of the building as it was damaged during World War II by bombing raids by the Luftwaffe.