PLANS has been submitted for a new £20 million hotel and office complex in Newry city centre.
Property firm Glena Developments is behind the scheme to build an 82-bedroom hotel and 45,000 square foot of offices, complemented with 160 parking spaces.
Called Project Luna, it covers more than three acres on the site of the former CARS of Newry motor showroom on Merchants Quay.
A pre-application notice from Glena (www.glenadevelopments.com) has been lodged with Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.
The hotel is estimated to provide up to 40 full time jobs when fully operational while the offices will provide office accommodation for between 300 and 500 people.
The director at Glena Developments is Damien Rafferty, who played at left full-back in Down's championship team which lost the 2010 All-Ireland final to Cork (the Newry Shamrocks player was a key cog in the Mourne rearguard for a number of years).
He said: “We are delighted to be announcing this significant news for Newry.
“Since acquiring the site, we have been working with various stakeholders to bring the plans forward.
“And following many months of discussions, we have now a hotel and office tenant agreed.
“While we cannot reveal the names at this stage, we have been working closely with their teams on their exact requirements through our appointed Architects Gray Design.”
Newry City is set to be transformed over the next decade, with multiple regeneration projects being progressed.
These include a new theatre and conference centre directly opposite this proposed hotel, a new Civic Centre and Albert Basin Park, alongside a number of other private sector commercial and residential developments.
“Newry’s strategic location in the heart of the Belfast-Dublin economic corridor makes it an
attractive place for investment, and there is a clear need for more hotel accommodation so the city can attract more visitors to the region,” Mr Rafferty added.
“We look forward to working with Newry, Mourne & Down District Council and other government departments, to advance the planning application and construction.
“It's imperative our tenants have confidence that projects can be delivered in a timely manner.”
Glena Developments is an established property development and investment company, focused on the development of derelict property and off market projects across a variety of sectors including commercial, residential, hospitality and retail.
