PROPERTY development start-up Z Group has set out ambitious plans to revive the vacant Glens Hotel in Cushendall.
Z Property Developments, set up in 2021 by Scott Kennedy, a former project manager with McAleer and Rushe, purchased the dilapidated hotel in recent weeks.
Located on the A2 Coast Road between Glenariff and Cushendun on the Antrim coast, the 13-bedroom hotel had originally gone on the market in 2016 for £400,000.
The property also comprises a restaurant and bar, kitchen, and function room that can cater for up to 250 people, with a beer garden overlooking the neighbouring golf course.
Z Property Group, a holding company for Z Property Developments, will share its preliminary plans and seek feedback from the local community when it hosts a drop-in session in for residents, groups and representatives at St Mary’s Parish Centre in Cushdendall on Tuesday February 28 (3.30pm to 6pm).
Group marketing manager Georgia Galway told the Irish News: “We fully intend to turn this into something quite spectacular and breathe fresh life into the village again.
“And we don't want simply to refurbish the Glens and sell it on, but will be there to run the hotel ourselves when the work is complete.”
She added: “There is huge demand in this area for staycations, so there is massive potential for the Glens Hotel when we bring it back to life.
“We see the restored function room becoming a focal point for weddings and awards ceremonies for GAA and other sporting organisations.
“And where previous the hotel operated seasonally, we see its potential for year-round use.”
Just before Christmas Z Property Group - which is developing its first residential scheme at Newbuildings in Derry, acquired a site on Belfast's Dublin Road for a £14 million residential scheme.
Plans are in place to develop 85 serviced apartments on a site previously occupied by the Kitch restaurant and the Emerald Chinese takeaway.
The existing buildings have since been demolished, and work on the new ten-storey scheme has now commenced, with Z's ambition being to “further enliven the Dublin Road and act as a catalyst for further developments in the area.”
