A NEW £45 million 185,000 sq ft Grade A office development in the heart of Belfast city centre has been given the green light.
Council planners have granted permission to Holywood property firm Wirefox for the 185,000 sq ft 'Paper Exchange' office scheme on Chichester Street, with the major development set to accommodate over 1,500 staff upon completion. The scheme will also offer basement car parking and ground floor coffee/restaurant units.
The new office building will cover the sites of both Oxford and Gloucester House, which are to be demolished and work is set to begin on the 11-storey, mixed-use development in the coming weeks. It is anticipated that 100 jobs will be created during the construction phase.
Steven Flannery, director of investments at Wirefox, revealed there has been "significant market interest" to date in the development, with Savills and Colliers International appointed joint letting agents.
“The Paper Exchange is one of the most exciting office development initiatives in Northern Ireland in a decade," Mr Flannery said.
“The provision of planning approval for The Paper Exchange is fantastic news for the wider growth of Belfast as a dynamic, international city that can cater for the office requirements of the world’s leading businesses and brands. Increasing the provision of Grade A office space in Belfast has been identified by Belfast City Council as a key objective in recent growth strategies for the city, such as the Belfast Agenda. This project is part of Wirefox’s strategic office portfolio that is helping to strengthen the city’s high-spec offering."
Head of office agency at Savills, Simon McEvoy added:
“The design, specification and location of The Paper Exchange make it one of the most exciting projects in the new wave of office developments to secure planning. We have been engaging with a number of potential tenants and, now that planning has been granted, we expect to move these discussions forward.”
Meanwhile a decision on the £400 million urban regeneration project in Belfast city centre, formerly known as the Royal Exchange, has been deferred for a month to allow for members to carry out a site visit. At Tuesday night's committee meeting those opposing the development voiced their concerns over the 12-acre scheme in relation to conservation and possible negative impact on the city's historic Cathedral Quarter. A final decision had been due to be taken by the council this evening.
A decision on an application for supported accommodation for older people, comprising 32 apartments at Haberton Park in south Belfast was also deferred along with a separate 15 appartment residential development at Eia Street in the north of the city.
Applications LA04/2017/1394/F and LA04/2017/1505/F were deferred for site visits. Application LA04/2017/2618/F was withdrawn from the agenda. All other items recommended for approval were approved.
The decision on Royal Exchange was to defer the meeting scheduled for tomorrow to enable a site visit to be undertaken.
