Choice Housing announce £14m investment as part of Kings Hall masterplan

Choice Housing, one of Northern Ireland’s largest housing associations, has announced an investment of £14m to deliver affordable housing and private rental units at the current King’s Hall site which is part of a wider health and wellbeing regeneration plan for the area.

The wider £100m regeneration project is being developed by Benmore Octopus and alongside the investment of this mixed residential development from Choice, will also include medical and life sciences accommodation, a multi-storey car park, a central plaza, a creche and retail/café/restaurant and leisure facilities.

Choice alongside their subsidiary Maple and May plan to develop 81 new apartments. The project will deliver a total of 45 new one and two-bedroom apartments for over 55s. A further 36 apartments will be leased via Maple and May as private rental units and will include a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments.

Choice Group CE Michael McDonnell said: “The transformation of this historic site into an innovative health and wellbeing hub will not only enhance the area but will place Northern Ireland amongst the very best in global innovation. The investment in mixed tenure residential living is a long-term commitment for Choice and being part of this regeneration project allows us to further demonstrate the benefits of this as a long-term sustainable housing option.

“There has been significant investment in the Belfast City Council area with 15 developments completed in the last three years, an investment of over £66m which further demonstrates our commitment to addressing the growing need for quality affordable housing in the Belfast area.”

Belfast’s H&J Martin Construction will lead in the development of the Choice led part of this project, which is located just off Balmoral Avenue in Belfast with an estimated completion of May 2024.

Gareth Moore, director at H&J Martin, explained: “This project will realise the potential of this iconic site and incorporate much needed quality housing. H&J Martin has a long history of working with and developing some of the most iconic sites across Northern Ireland and this project will prove to be a world class development when complete.”

Kevin McKay, chairman of Benmore Octopus, added: “We are delighted to welcome Choice Housing to the Kings Hall Health and Wellbeing Park. The development will enrich the mix of occupiers on the site and help deliver on our vision to create an offering which delivers the future of healthcare.

“Our precision medicine hub Dataworks will soon be welcoming new occupiers alongside anchor tenant Diaceutics, while we are also in the process of building the next phase of our age-appropriate living accommodation and other aspects of the wider development plan.”

The social housing apartments will be constructed to Lifetime Homes standards with all apartments benefitting from Secured by Design ‘Gold’ accreditation. The development will also be served by private parking, communal amenity space and a part-time concierge service.