Belfast In Transition

When I left Belfast in 2001, I was glad to leave the city after my 10 years of living there as a student at Queen's University and then as a young professional. I returned to work in North Belfast for a few years on the Urban II Regeneration Programme until 2005, when Rhys was born. It all seems like a lifetime ago now when I look back.

Fast forward, another 10 years and I remember when we came back from Canada being amazed at all the fab beer gardens that had popped up all round town. The Dirty Onion being the first one we visited in 2016!

Other than a few nights out in Belfast, the odd concert and showing the boys the usual tourist hot spots like the Titanic Quarter and going to a Giants game I hadn’t spent much time in the city.

That was until last year.

I feel like I have gotten to know the city again and am amazed at the exciting projects that are planned for Belfast over the next few years and the transitions that will take place.

Tribeca

The Triangle beside the Cathedral (St Anne’s). A new destination for Belfast. Bringing together a new way of working, living and shopping in the heart of the city including the creation of 33,000 sq ft of Grade A office Space, city centre apartments and retail opportunities.

Tribeca Belfast is a ￡500m urban regeneration scheme on a 12 acre site located beside St Anne’s Cathedral bounded by Royal Avenue, Donegall Street, Lower Garfield Street and Rosemary Street.

Smithfield Yard

A 167,404sq.ft mixed use campus development in the heart of the historic Smithfield area of Belfast. Three buildings connected by one yard. With The Yard at its heart, North, Sawtooth and Gresham are individual office buildings. Its focus is on creating a community, cultivating start-ups and small local traders, feeding established SMEs and supporting local business alongside larger corporates.

With its daily market, Smithfield has always been a place to gather. By injecting life back into The Terraces through a dynamic tenant mix and by ensuring The Yard is home to excellent independent eateries and coffee shops, there will be a celebration of the area’s tradition of bringing people together.

Smithfield is just a few minute’s walk from the City Hall, Victoria Square and Donegall Place and a stone’s throw from the vibrant arts, food and drink culture of the Cathedral Quarter.

Waterside

A new ￡450 million development project located on a 16 acre riverside site - the former Sirocco Works site and at the heart of the city in BT1. Waterside will include 790,000 Grade A Office Space, a talent generator, 700 city centre homes, a 4 star Hotel, public realm schemes and foot and cycle bridges.

Transport Hub/Weavers Cross

The 20 acre site in city centre offers 124000sqm of flexible mixed use space a with multimodal transport hub at the centre. The transport and office space led regeneration project will offer bus and rail connections across NI and the island of Ireland and connections to all major Airports.

NI currently has a short of Grade A office space for 800 International companies employing 75,000 people. Within Weavers Cross there will be 100,000sqm of prime location flexible space surrounded by vital transport links and inspiring public realms.

University of Ulster Belfast Campus

This new development will draw in 15000 students into the state of the art ‘campus within a building’.

The 75,000sqf facility will be ready for students in Sept 2021.

This inner city investment builds on the already vibrant Cathedral Quarter. There are obvious opportunities for accommodation, night time economy, retail, cafes & restaurants to name a few.

Although there clearly are challenges facing city centre retail there are many reason to be positive about Belfast. These key developments without doubt will provide opportunities for investors and entrepreneurs.

According to Glassdoor, Belfast ranks in the top 25 cities to work in the UK and ‘is a compact, energetic city surpassing the expectations of a typical regional capital. It has emerged from a challenging past as one of the best UK cities to live and work in.’

I could even be tempted to move back to the Big Smoke myself.

#Belfast #propertydevelopment #propertyinvestments #propertyinvesting #fixedreturns #handsoffinvesting #tribeca #waterside #universityofulsterbelfastcampus #smithfieldyard #belfasttransporthub #weaverscross