Belfast Harbour and Farrans Construction reach topping out milestone on City Quays 3

At 250,000 square feet, City Quays 3 will accommodate 1,800 people when it is completed and represents Belfast Harbour’s largest property development project to date.

The building is the latest component of City Quays, a contemporary, sustainable, waterfront development that includes commercial offices, retail, cafes, restaurants and multi-storey car parking, as well as the AC by Marriott Hotel. The area will be amplified by the recent announcement that Belfast Harbour plans to develop a multi-million pound urban garden and public space.

Construction started on City Quays 3 in 2019 and the development has supported 600 construction jobs during the build including a number of apprenticeship roles. Work on the building is expected to be completed before the end of this year.

The project, designed by Belfast-based architects RPP, is being built to the BREEAM Excellent sustainability standard, placing it in the top 10% of sustainable new buildings in the UK. The new building is also one of the first development projects in the city to incorporate design elements to help navigate the challenges of the pandemic and reduce surface contact in the workplace.

Joe O’Neill, Belfast Harbour’s CEO, said: “Our ‘Port for Everyone’ vision is to develop an iconic waterfront for the city, working with partners to create a vibrant space that all communities can enjoy, and making Belfast Harbour an attractive place to live, work, visit and invest. That vision is one step closer with the topping out of City Quays 3, which will be Northern Ireland’s largest Grade A office development.

“City Quays is already home to a growing community of diverse blue-chip businesses, with offices at City Quays 1 and 2 fully let and over 1,000 people working in the buildings. We are excited to be nearing the completion of City Quays 3 later this year.”

Leading building and civil engineering contractor Farrans Construction is delivering the 16 storey office development. With over 75 years’ experience of world-class projects across the UK and Ireland, the company employs more than 500 people.

Noel Cosgrove, project manager from Farrans, added: “We know that the people of Belfast have been watching the progress on City Quays 3 and in the last week we have fitted the final glass panels to successfully top out on this impressive structure. As a team we have a real sense of pride in what we are delivering here. The views from the building over the marina, Belfast Lough and the whole city will mean that every day will be different in this bright workspace.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you