A Cookstown-based firm has submitted a planning application for a 15-storey structure in the centre of Belfast.
Property developer McAleer and Rushe has submitted a bid to construct student accommodation between Great Victoria Street and the Dublin Road.
The £14m Little Victoria Street project proposes the demolition of the existing buildings on the site and the erection of 265 new units over 15 floors. Submitted to planners at Belfast City Council on October 11, the bid also includes a proposal for a ground floor retail unit.
McAleer and Rushe has just completed a £70m project for Queen’s University, adding 1,200 student rooms in two major new city centre builds. The Co Tyrone firm’s BT1 and Elms BT2 projects have been the biggest to date, adding 474 rooms at College Avenue and 490 at McClintock Street.
The plans are the latest in the recent increase in student accommodation in the city centre since Ulster University announced its plan to relocate its Jordanstown campus to York Street.
Other student developments have included the £10m Botanic Studios on Dublin Road by Lacuna Watkins Jones and a £35m project by York Street Student Properties on 101 York Street.
In its submission to planners for its latest student venture, McAleer and Rushe said: “The completion of this development will provide the city centre with an important new project that will become another symbol of its continuing urban regeneration.
“In addition to providing over 200 student accommodation (units) and 4,000 sq ft of retail space, the development will have the potential to bring back to life an important street in the heart of the city centre.”
