In a major move forward to accelerate city centre living and housing regeneration across the city, Belfast City Council has selected GRAHAM as its long-term private sector partner to work alongside Council to deliver residential-led, mixed-use, sustainable developments across multiple sites.
With an overall development potential of c£630m, this initial partnership phase leverages strategic Council-owned city centre sites with a development value of £280m, which will deliver mixed tenure homes to help meet the needs of those wishing to live in the city.
This innovative approach will help drive forward city centre living and housing-led regeneration across the city. It follows a period of active engagement with the private sector and investment market through a public procurement process.
Appointing GRAHAM will allow Belfast City Council to bring forward development at scale with placemaking, people and connectivity at its heart to help meet the city’s growth ambitions.
Chair of Belfast City Council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, Councillor Ryan Murphy said:
“Belfast has seen significant regeneration in recent years and there is high demand to live, work, socialise, study, and invest here. In response to a clear imperative to accelerate city centre living, and to address sustained housing stress across the city, the Council has brought forward this game-changing opportunity to deliver transformative change in our city centre and beyond. “Securing GRAHAM as our delivery partner signals our intent and ambition to deliver quality new homes across a range of tenures. At the core of this partnership is a strong commitment to community and stakeholder engagement and to delivering long lasting social, economic and environment impacts for communities. This bold, innovative approach to bringing forward housing-led, mixed-use regeneration will help us build an inclusive city that works for everyone.”
Councillor Sam Nelson, Chair of Belfast City Council’s City Growth and Regeneration Committee said:
“Accelerating city centre living and delivering quality homes across the wider city is one of Belfast’s most pressing priorities. As well as providing new homes, this opportunity will provide social value, create employment opportunities, deliver quality outdoor spaces, and support a vibrant, inclusive, and liveable city. GRAHAM has the relevant experience, capability, and resources to match the scale of our ambition for the city.”
John McDonald, Investment Projects Managing Director at GRAHAM said:
“GRAHAM is delighted to have been selected by Belfast City Council as its delivery partner for this housing-led regeneration partnership. We look forward to building a meaningful, long-term collaborative relationship with the Council, and other stakeholders, to expeditiously unlock Belfast’s regeneration potential. “This partnership is a unique development vehicle that can make an important contribution to the Council’s strategic aspiration to deliver thousands of much-needed new homes for people of all ages and backgrounds. “GRAHAM is rooted in Belfast. Together with the Council, we will be ambitious and build momentum across the portfolio of sites to accelerate development. Our firm commitment is to create homes that contribute to vibrant, sustainable, and inclusive communities in the city centre and across the city.”
This announcement follows the recent appointment of Viridis, a consortium of GRAHAM, Equitix and Derwent FM as preferred bidder and delivery partner for the redevelopment of the University of Manchester's Fallowfield Campus, which on completion, will offer up to 5,400 student beds to meet the growing demand for high-quality, modern bedrooms across the campus.