A total of £75 million worth of investment has been announced in Belfast’s student accommodation sector.
The projects – one in the Cathedral Quarter and other near the University Quarter – are the latest in a raft of student accommodation builds across the city in the last few years.
The development company behind some of Northern Ireland’s most prominent outlet shopping centres is the name behind a plan to build 724 student apartments.
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The £55 million proposed investment by Lotus Property – to be known as 140 Donegal Street - will be adjacent to the new Ulster University campus and stretch to 10 stories.
A planning application was lodged with Belfast City Council recently following a public consultation.
The site, currently a car park, had previously received planning permission in 2017 and the amended plans will maintain the same footprint and mass of the building that had received permission.
Meanwhile, a Dublin development company has announced that it has bought site on Belfast’s Bradbury Place where it will build a unit housing 156 student beds and nearly 4,000 square feet of ground floor retail space.
The site at 30-44 Bradbury Place is the first Northern Ireland investment for Elkstone Partners and marks an investment of some £20 million.
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Ciarán McIntyre, Chief Commercial Officer at Elkstone Partners, said the deal marks an investment of international capital.
“Our focus is to proactively assist our clients in selecting investment prospects that are directly tailored to their individual needs, and we will be seeking further investment opportunities in the north. Purpose-built student accommodation continues to be a fast-growing sector, and having seen activity surge across Ireland and the 海角视频 in recent years, we identified Bradbury Place as an opportunity to develop this market in Northern Ireland.
Alastair Coulson, Managing Director of the Lotus Property said demand for student accommodation remains strong despite the recent pandemic.
“With the new campus set to cater for 15,000 students, the demand for student housing in the city centre is also set to increase and we believe that this development is ideal to help meet that need,” he said. “Belfast City Council has prioritised city centre living in their Belfast City Centre Regeneration and Investment Strategy with a view to growing the population of the city centre to 66,000 by 2035 and with two major universities in the city the student population will need catered for.
“The development at 140 Donegall Street offers a fantastic opportunity to help contribute towards this objective.”
Lotus Property is behind some of Northern Ireland’s most well-known shopping developments including ‘The Boulevard’ in Banbridge and ‘The Junction Retail and Leisure Park’ in Antrim.