Key developments that could change the face of Belfast in 2024

The future of Belfast is looking very bright, with plenty of planning projects on the horizon.

And 2024 is set to be no different, with several new development projects getting underway or even finishing which are sure to transform the face of the city.

From accommodation to retail and leisure sites, there’s plenty to keep Belfast occupied with our ever-changing city.

It’s an exciting time for development in the city and this year is set to see many flourish.

Here are just some of the developments across the city to keep an eye out for in 2024 as they get underway and are completed.

Fanum House

Image showing a tower block overlooking a street and petrol station with two cars in foreground

Fanum House on Great Victoria Street could become student housing under new plans totalling £55 million.

The city centre office block, which has previously been dubbed “the ugliest building in Belfast”, was built in 1965 and served as the Belfast base for RTE and The Irish Times.

There have been plans to demolish the 11-storey brutalist office block for more than a decade and replace it with a hotel or housing.

The owners, Co Derry-based South Bank Square, have filed a pre-application notice with Belfast City Council. In 2020, the company said it was planning a development of 210 apartments in a scheme known as The Grattan.

But it has now switched its intentions to student accommodation, where the building could serve 610 students.

Dublin Road

A computer generated image of the Dublin Road student block

A well-known city centre pub and club is to be demolished and replaced with an 11-storey student accommodation block.

The building at 41-49 Dublin Road and 3-5 Ventry Street will be at the site of the current Filthy McNasty’s pub, which will become a 201-bed purpose-built managed student accommodation scheme and retail unit.

The developer, FMN Properties Limited, of Upper Newtownards Road Belfast has also applied to build a replacement pub on Ventry Street.

The estimated construction cost is £7 million.

There are two nearby student accommodation buildings which are operational, Botanic Studios at 78-86 Dublin Road and Vita at 27 Bruce Street.

Queens University is also planning a student housing scheme on the nearby Dublin Road on part of the site once occupied by the Movie House cinema.

The Keep

The Keep on Castle Lane in Belfast city centre

Planning permission was granted in 2022 to turn the former BHS building into a new retail and leisure unit known as “The Keep”.

The 70,000 sq ft building on Castle Lane in Belfast has been empty since BHS went into administration in 2016. It was acquired in early 2021 by Alterity Investments.

Plans include a significant reconfiguration of the ground floor space into a number of retail units and a partial change of use on upper floors to allow for leisure uses.

Permission was also granted to alter the existing facade on Castle Lane, Castle Arcade and Cornmarket to make it more attractive, as well as changes to internal staircases and walls.

Contractor Ganson is due to complete the construction phase of The Keep in early 2024 with a number of big names already signed up.

H&M is set to open a two-storey flagship store while Europe’s largest footwear retailer, Deichmann will open an 8,500 sq ft two-storey store in the scheme, which will be its first on the island of Ireland.

Belfast Grand Central Station

Construction work underway at Belfast Grand Central Station

A new £200million transport hub for Belfast is entering its final phases and is set to transform the city centre and Northern Ireland’s public transport network overall.

The new bus and rail centre, to be known as Belfast Grand Central Station, will be the largest integrated transport facility on the island of Ireland and one of the biggest in the UK when it opens.

Situated on Translink property near the current Europa Buscentre and Great Victoria Street train stations, transformation work at the site began in 2020 and it’s due to be completed in the final quarter of this year with the full project completed by 2025.

Once complete, the new station will be around 10 times the size and cater for up to 20 million passenger journeys a year.

The number of rail platforms will double from four to eight while the number of bus stands will increase to 26 as well as facilities for bicycles and taxis.

Belfast Grand Central Station will also become the new home for the cross-border Enterprise train service to Dublin, which will relocate from its current base at nearby Lanyon Place.

The new station, located at the heart of a new ‘Weavers Cross’ city neighbourhood, will also breathe new life in an often forgotten corner of Belfast.

The full site will include 1.3 million square feet of office, residential, student housing, retail and leisure space, as well as Saltwater Square, a new public realm space for outdoor performances and community events.

New city centre hotels

Google Street View of the Waring Street planned hotel site

Four new Belfast hotels were given the green light by councillors at City Hall just before Christmas.

Three of them will be in the city’s Cathedral Quarter while the fourth will be in the Titanic Quarter.

The four hotels “are being brought forward to meet rising visitor demand”, according to the council.

Permission was granted for change of use at 5 and 9-13 Waring Street from a museum and vacant office building to a 120-bedroom hotel with a six-storey extension, single storey roof top extension with bar/restaurant and a covered roof top terrace.

Approval was also given to alter, extend and amalgamate existing buildings at 35 and 37 Donegall Street and 7 Donegall Street Place to create a 20-bed hotel with bar/restaurant and associated outdoor seating area.

The former NI Housing Executive Offices at 10-16 Hill Street will become a 20-bedroom boutique hotel, with ground floor restaurant and bar.”

As well as the three in the Cathedral Quarter, permission was also granted for what the Council has described as “135 hotel beds and 93 aparthotel beds, restaurant/café and bar, gym, landscaped public realm, car and cycle parking, cycle parking directly south of Titanic Belfast and north-west of Hamilton Dock located off Queen’s Road”.

Strand Arts Centre

The Strand Arts Centre

A transformational £6.5 million redevelopment project to preserve Northern Ireland’s only operational art deco picture house is poised to begin in early 2024.

The major restoration of the Strand Arts Centre will secure the future of a treasured Belfast landmark and create much-needed new arts spaces for the community.

On completion, guests will have a ‘living museum’ experience, where they can absorb the architectural and social history of a pre-war cinema, with the sensitive restoration of original architectural features including the building’s iconic façade, entrance and foyer.

Two heritage film theatres will double as intimate live performance spaces; the Strand’s iconic balcony screen will be transformed into a world-class performance space, seating 250; while the restored front stalls will be transformed into a unique theatre space for 160.

Enhanced backstage facilities will make the venue more attractive to local artists, touring productions and festival events.

An interactive exhibition will celebrate the history of the iconic east Belfast picturehouse, showcasing the story of the Strand, and the many lives it has touched, while a separate high-end screening room accommodating up to 60 people.

Havelock House

Demolition work begins at Havelock House in South Belfast

Demolition work has begun at Havelock House in Belfast, the former home of UTV.

Work began at the site in the Ormeau Road last Monday amid plans to build more than 100 new social homes.

The proposal has been submitted by Lotus Property and developed with the Clanmill Housing Association, subject to planning permission.

The scheme will deliver homes for families, older people, and those with mobility needs, and comprises a range of one, two, and three bedroom houses and apartments.

Built in 1871 as a hemstitching warehouse, Havelock House became the home of UTV in 1959, until the broadcaster relocated to Belfast’s City Quays in 2018.

A local campaign group had opposed the plans to demolish the building, which is not listed.

Marlborough House

A five-storey building on an urban street with a road and cars in the foreground

Plans were submitted last August to turn a listed building in Belfast city centre into an apartment block.

The plans would see Marlborough House on Victoria Street partially demolished and refurbished, for the redevelopment of around 120 apartments, complete with private open space, landscaping, and public realm improvements.

Martin Property Group’s proposals are for a mix of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom apartments.

Located close to Custom House Square, Marlborough House previously housed the offices for commercial law firm, Tughan’s.

Waterworks and Alexandra Park

Waterworks Park, Belfast.

A pre-planning public consultation is currently underway on exciting new proposals to transform Waterworks Park and Alexandra Park in north Belfast.

Redevelopment plans include upgrades to entrances, paths, lighting, signage, play parks, bridges and pitches at both parks.

Refurbishment and essential safety work is also planned at both parks’ reservoirs.

New features proposed for the Waterworks include a café, a dog exercise area, an events space, toilets, a Changing Places facility and a basketball court.

In Alexandra Park, proposed new facilities include allotments, toilets, a Changing Places facility and a community events space.

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