A NEW £18 million investment fund has been launched in Belfast to drive office developments to create 50,000 more jobs in the city.
Belfast City Council has launched the major support fund to encourage private companies to invest in high quality, substantial city centre office developments and address the shortage, which is being seen as a barrier to growth.
The £18.77m City Centre Investment Fund (CCIF) is a response to a market failure relating to a lack of funding for Grade A office developments. It is hoped that the financial assistance on offer will encourage the commencement and refurbishment of office schemes in the city, in line with the council's Belfast City Regeneration and Investment Strategy and help meet ambitious plans published in the Belfast Agenda to create 50,000 more jobs in the city by 2035.
Belfast Lord Mayor councillor Nuala McAllister said the fund will help the fulfil the city's "world class" ambitions.
“Our City Centre Regeneration and Investment Strategy highlighted that the lack of Grade A office space in Belfast city centre is currently a real barrier to growth.
“We’ve made a commitment in the Belfast Agenda to create 50,000 more jobs in the city by 2035 – and to do that, we need to attract more investment. By taking this partnership approach with the private sector through the City Centre Investment Fund, we can remove some of the risk for developers, and make Belfast a much more attractive option for them.
“As Lord Mayor, my focus this year is very much on creating a Global Belfast – and the launch of this fund will lend fresh impetus to our world class ambitions for our city.”
Belfast City Council has called for expressions of interest from companies who have secured planning permission for their projects and interested parties are invited to register to attend an information workshop on June 30 in Belfast by emailing ccif@belfastcity.gov.uk or calling the city centre development team on 028 9062 0202.
The application process involves three stages, with shortlisting taking place following the initial expressions of interest process.
In the first stage, companies are asked to submit an expression of interest form, outlining their scheme and their experience by a deadline of 12 noon on August 18.
