PLANS to develop Belfast’s first large scale private build-to-rent scheme have taken a major step forward with confirmation that the bulk of its funding has been put in place and construction can begin immediately.
Watkin Jones, the UK's leading developer and manager of residential for rent, in partnership with local developers Lacuna, have exchanged contracts with Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM) and Clanmil Housing Association to forward-fund the new Loft Lines urban residential community on a 3.8 acre site in Belfast's Titanic Quarter.
It means £155 million of £175 million for the 778-unit development - which received planning approval in April - has now been secured.
And work on the massive urban riverside community can begin within weeks. It should take around three years to completion.
Set on a brownfield site in the shadow of the old shipyard and the imposing Titanic Belfast, the scheme will comprise 627 build to rent (BTR) units and 151 affordable homes.
Loft Lines - where hundreds of jobs will be created during the construction stage - is being pitched at families, young professionals and older downsizers, who will have the choice of one, two, or three bed homes or studio apartments.
The name is inspired by Belfast’s loftsmen, who planned out the life-sized plate patterns of ships on the enormous black floor of the shipyard’s mould loft, which once stood on the site of the proposed scheme.
The Loft Lines will be a fully managed site, meaning residents’ rent will include their wi-fi, gym, and other extras such as a front-of-house concierge service.
Anthony Best, managing director at Lacuna Developments, said: “This is another significant step forward for city centre living in Belfast.
“For Lacuna to be involved in the first purpose-built student accommodation scheme in 2015 and now the first mixed tenure housing scheme in the city centre is fantastic and shows our company’s commitment to Belfast our home city.
“Loft Lines will deliver build to rent, affordable and social housing as well large amounts of public realm and major green travel measures.”
He added: “The ambitions for Belfast city centre are huge but to be involved in Loft Lines which will support the growth planned under the Belfast Agenda is fantastic.
“The partnership approach by all stakeholders, Belfast City Council and L&G has been great to be part of and required a huge amount of work by all to reach this stage.
“We look forward starting the project with Grahams very shortly in what will be a three-year project and will be a game changing regeneration scheme for Titanic Quarter and the wider city.”
According to Mike Powell, head of BTR transactions at LGIM Real Assets, the deal is the largest ever private sector investment into housing in Northern Ireland.
He added: “This is a long-term investment that will allow for the continued regeneration of the Titanic Quarter and crucially support the growing housing demands of the city.”
Alex Pease, chief investment officer at Watkin Jones, who secured the institutional investment from L&G and Clanmil, said: “This is further evidence of the attractive investment and operational fundamentals of both BTR as a sector and Belfast as a city and a good sign of capital markets re-opening.
“We have a strong track record of developing large regeneration sites and are delighted to bring the first BTR scheme to the city of Belfast.
“Titanic Quarter will develop an area that is steeped in rich history, transforming this brownfield site into a thriving place to live and acting as a catalyst for wider regeneration.
“The development is being brought to fruition by a true partnership approach between all stakeholders and funders and we are grateful for the genuine collaboration we have experienced with our partners.”
Titanic Quarter's commercial director James Eyre added: “Loft Lines is a super component of the continuing mixed-use regeneration of Titanic Quarter and supports Belfast’s growth ambitions set out in the Belfast Agenda.”
