£65m office development will set new standards for Belfast

That’s the claim from the Richland Group, the firm behind the £65 million One Bankmore Square on Belfast’s Dublin Road.

The project, on the site of the Movie House, will go to public consultation in early February with an application for full planning permission to go to the City Council in March .

The 255,000sqft, Grade A office scheme is the latest scheme designed to ease the shortage for premium office space which plays a ctirical part in attrcting investment and the ongoing development of the economy.

‘We believe that Belfast needs a ‘world-class’ grade A office development of this scale, a scheme that has the potential to attract and keep the biggest and most successful companies on the planet,” said Richland Group CEO Gary McCausland.

At 12 stories, each floor will offer 25,000sqft, with ground floor space for ancillary cafe, retail and leisure uses.

The proposal also includes the transformation of Bankmore Square into a focal public open space with potential for an outdoor cinema and public art exhibitions, effectively re-invigorating the area and becoming a great asset to the south of the city.

If approved the building could be complete by late 2019.

“We have assembled a brilliant home-grown professional team to deliver this exciting project with Farrans joining us as delivery partners,” said Mr McCausland.

“One Bankmore Square will inject tens of millions of pounds into the local economy, create thousands of jobs, rejuvenate a very important part of Belfast City centre and add incredible value to people that live and work in Belfast and indeed Northern Ireland.

“It’s time to think outside the box, it’s time to think big, it’s time to really get on the world stage and deliver the solutions and space that blue-chip companies demand and that is exactly what we intend to do’

Farrans MD John Wilson said: “We are delighted to partner with the Richland Group in developing what will become Belfast’s biggest and best office scheme. Not only will One Bankmore Square provide much-needed office space for local and international occupiers, it will also reinvigorate and transform this area of the city.”

David Algie of consultants Arup said: “Arup Belfast’s experienced MEP team has worked closely with Richland Group, Farrans, Todd Architects, and the wider One Bankmore Square project team to develop a 21st century design that will set a new standard for Belfast. We have drawn lessons from the recent experiences of Arup Group colleagues, who have led the engineering of many of the most celebrated commercial property projects in London and beyond in order to ensure that new approaches to building services design, sustainability and technology have been implemented in this exciting project.”