Titanic Quarter plans unveiled

Titanic Quarter plans unveiled

The plans are for the area around the Odyssey Arena

Plans to transform former shipbuilding areas in Belfast have been unveiled.

Developers want to build 450 waterfront apartments around Abercorn Basin, next to the Odyssey Arena, on land that used to belong to shipbuilders Harland and Wolff.

The planning application, made public on Tuesday, includes two 15-storey "landmark" buildings with a number of six-storey high developments in the surrounding area.

The chief executive of the Titanic Quarter development company, Mike Smith, said the application was another major step forward for the area.

One of our key objectives is to introduce high quality contemporary architecture that reflects the area's maritime heritage

Richard McMaster
Belfast Harbour Commission

"Abercorn Basin is the most attractive waterfront residential location ever to come on the market in Belfast and we expect a lot of interest in this site," he said.

Plans have already been put forward for the other half of Titanic Quarter, with a 150,000sq ft building being one of the main features.

Mr Smith said Titanic Quarter would be "a high quality, mixed-use development with employment, housing, leisure, heritage and cultural arts within a traditional urban form of streets, blocks and squares".

Belfast Harbour Commission, which is co-promoter of the development, said it would help as a catalyst for further investment in the area.

"One of our key objectives is to introduce high quality contemporary architecture that reflects the area's maritime heritage and the early drawings of the proposed scheme do just that," said the commission's estates' manager Richard McMaster.

The area was called Titanic Quarter after the ill-fated liner built by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, which sank in 1912.

Glass dome

Elsewhere in Belfast, a £250m city centre retail development at Victoria Square, off Chichester Street, has been finally been granted formal planning permission, four years after first being mooted.

The proposal is for 500,000 sq ft of retail space, including provision for a major department store, a hotel, health club, restaurants, apartments and car parking.

Two multi-level covered streets will link to a 35 metre-diameter glass dome.

The scheme is expected to provide about 3,000 jobs during construction and 3,000 permanent posts upon completion.