‘One Grosvenor Gate’ receives the green light

A new Grade A office development adjacent to the city’s new Transport Hub in the centre of Belfast has received approval from city planners.

One Grosvenor Gate will be a landmark city centre gateway development comprising 226,800 sq. ft of prime office space over 14 floors, creating capacity for more than 2,500 employees and generating over 100 direct construction jobs.

Located on the Grosvenor Road, the development will be on the site of what is currently business premises and is being brought to the market by developers Ossian Holdings.

Robert Jebb, director of Ossian Holdings, said: “We are very pleased to have received planning permission for One Grosvenor Gate after working closely with planners and listening to their views. It will be a landmark city gateway building, strategically located next to the brand-new Belfast Transport Hub at Weavers Cross, with unrivaled transport links. One Grosvenor Gate benefits from a unique, developer driven full planning approval for either a single 226,800 sq ft building or two of 165,000 sq ft and 50,000 sq ft.

“Key features include floor plates in excess of 23,000 sq ft, natural light on all floors from all four glazed elevations and a public realm plaza adjacent to the Transport Hub. We believe One Grosvenor Gate will be an attractive prospect to any large office occupier with an office requirement.”

The building’s design will feature three stepped blocks of increasing height which will transform an under-utilised site and contribute positively to the Belfast skyline and the wider regeneration around the new Belfast Transport Hub. Its largest floorplates will be significantly bigger than the market standard to enable open plan accommodation to provide improved connectivity with break-out areas and collaborative spaces.

Peter Minnis, director of Todd Architects continued: “One Grosvenor Gate is a true city “gateway”, and with its distinctive, elegant, stepped form it will become an immediately identifiable landmark on Belfast’s skyline. It sits directly adjacent to the new Transport Hub, with environmental sustainability and new ways of working that are emerging from the impact of the pandemic, being core design considerations.”

Stuart Draffin from Portbannis, the asset manager for the development added: “Grosvenor Gate has the potential to be one of the first commercial opportunities realised as a result of the public sector investment in the new Transport Hub and the benefits of Northern Ireland being in both the United Kingdom and the European Union.

“The advantages of being located so close to the main public transport links connecting all of Ireland are vast. When things do return to some sort of normality it is likely people will not accept a disproportionate amount of their week spent in traffic. This location could save large amounts of travel time and reduce the need for cars.

“The location, floor plate size, timing and scale of One Grosvenor Gate can hopefully result in an iconic Gateway Development that will benefit all of Northern Ireland.”

Recognising the shift towards flexible and hybrid working, large open plan floors will allow for a range of configurations and the building will also include features such as secure cycle storage at ground floor level, with shower cubicles and associated cycling facilities.

Outdoor spaces, including rooftop terraces, will also be a key feature and the developers have worked with planners to ensure the public realm and open space in front of the building connects seamlessly with that of the new Transport Hub.

One Grosvenor Gate is also designed to be future proofed for Zero Carbon. It will accommodate significantly reduced energy demand using natural ventilation and on-site low and zero carbon technologies such as photovoltaic panels.

Lambert Smith Hampton has been appointed as the leasing agent to One Grosvenor Gate.

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