McAleer & Rushe and Dunloe Ewart, announce further development of the Bedford St site in Belfast
Nov 21Bedford St Developments Limited ( a joint venture between McAleer & Rushe and Dunloe Ewart) have unveiled plans for further development at their Bedford Street site in Belfast following recent government confirmation that the PPP contract for Invest NI’s new headquarters on part of the site has been signed. Construction work has started on a 13-storey building of which Invest NI will occupy eight floors when it is completed in October 2005.
The first phase of the development encompasses the 100,000 sq ft bespoke corporate headquarters for Invest Northern Ireland together with an additional five floors (c. 35,000 sq ft) of office space. A new multi-storey tower/office development with in excess of 200,000 sq ft is planned for the next stage of the development while the final phase of development on the 1.2 acre site will be the refurbishment of the existing Ewart building, a listed building and former linen warehouse dating back to 1869. It is anticipated that both phases will be completed in mid 2007. The developers also plan to create a landscaped public plaza designed to act as a focal point for what is already being described as an exciting new landmark city centre development.
The £100 million project will result in the creation of approximately 425,000 sq ft of space upon completion and while it is envisaged that most of this will be taken up by the office sector, the new Tower and newly-refurbished Ewart buildings will be designed to offer high specification, flexible accommodation suitable for a number of uses including leisure and residential.
Seamus McAleer, Chairman of McAleer & Rushe commented: – “Obviously, we’re delighted to have formalised this part of the contract. Having worked very closely with government on finalising the design and service provision of Invest NI’s new head offices, we’re looking forward to see the project come to fruition. This is also a very exciting time for us in terms of re-developing the rest of the site and we’re confident that when it’s completed, the development as a whole will inject new vitality into Bedford Street reaffirming it as the economic and commercial heart of the city.”
Paul Henry of property consultants, Osborne King, who managed the PPP bid on behalf of McAleer & Rushe and Dunloe Ewart and who have been retained as joint letting agents for the rest of the development added:- “While securing the PPP contract for Invest NI’s new headquarters was a crucial element in plans to develop the site overall, most of the plans for this development have been made on a speculative basis. This demonstrates clearly the underlying confidence that developers have not just in the local property market but also in the local economy itself.
BTW Shiells are also acting as joint agents for Phases 2 and 3 of the Bedford Street scheme.