An apartment block proposed for Sailortown in Belfast would be Northern Ireland’s tallest building – standing at 30 storeys.
The development of 195 apartments over 30 storeys – two storeys higher than the Obel, which is currently the tallest building in Ireland with 29 floors – is being proposed by Amigo Developments, based in Lisburn.
It is also significantly taller than the Grand Central Hotel in Bedford Street in the city, which has 23 floors.
The development at Clarendon Dock would include a shop and restaurant on the ground floor, as well as a private cinema and a room for residents to practise Pilates and yoga. It will also include a rooftop bar.
Amigo Developments wants to demolish the derelict Pat’s Bar and Rotterdam bar which sit back-to-back at Pilot Street and Princes Dock Street.
A travel co-ordinator would be appointed to encourage residents to cycle around the city, according to a brochure.
A car park will also be operated by car rental firm Sixt, with residents given the option of hiring cars by the hour.
They also propose a rooftop bar which they say would become “one of the most breathtaking and unique social spaces in Belfast”.
And Barrow Square – an area of unused sunken ground just beyond the area, and part of the development plan – would feature raised lawns and planters “to soften its appearance and make it less forbidding,” according to a brochure by planning consultants O’Toole & Starkey.
The brochure said that the height of the building was in keeping with the general area.
A second 30-storey building is proposed for the Titanic Quarter, across from Clarendon Dock.
It said: “Clarendon Dock and the surrounding area of Belfast is in the process of undergoing significant transition, with various major developments having been completed and approved in recent years.
“Taller buildings are part and parcel of the emerging urban fabric of the area.”
The brochure cited the Obel building, which has 28 storeys, and Clarendon Dock’s James Clow Apartments of 14 storeys adjacent to the proposed development site.
It added that the high-rise building would also “punctuate the block and add visual interest to Barrow Square, and act as a key gateway building to the city centre on approach along Belfast Lough, complementing the 30-storey Abercorn Tower building within the Titanic Quarter”.
O’Toole & Starkey held a public consultation event to showcase their plans this week.
The new plans are not the first for Sailortown.
Various proposals have been put forward to redevelop the bars over the years, including a building housing 112 apartments, two restaurants and a gym, but no projects have ever came to fruition.
The consultation event was held to hear the views of the public before a planning application is submitted to Belfast City Council.
Sailortown was a working-class community located in the docks area of Belfast.
The Rotterdam was a hotbed for alternative musical talent in Belfast and throughout Northern Ireland.
It is believed to be one of the oldest bars in the city and first started trading during the late 1800s.
Original article: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
