Watkin Jones has agreed a partnership with Lacuna Developments, Titanic Quarter and Belfast Harbour to develop a £175m waterfront build-to-rent scheme in Belfast.
The developer has agreed a subject to planning deal to acquire 3.84 acres at Titanic Quarter for its first BTR scheme in Northern Ireland, comprising around 800 flats.
The move comes as Watkin Jones seeks to ramp up its BTR activity, with a number of senior appointments across the team.
It has hired Turley’s former head of London planning, Ben Wrighton, as strategic planning director and Jonathan Lacey and Manu Dinamani as investment directors. Lacey was previously at CA Ventures, and Dinamani worked at Crosslane.
The Titanic scheme could be the first BTR for the city, which has yet to attract institutional investment for the burgeoning asset class.
It is located on the harbour, next to the Titanic Belfast museum and Belfast Metropolitan College, close to development that will see a new tech hub and film studios.
Watkin Jones is in pre-application discussions ahead of lodging plans for 800 flats, with 20% affordable housing, including social-rented homes. The developer has appointed Todd Architects for the design, with Turley advising planning.
Alex Pease, chief investment officer at Watkin Jones, told EG: “It is the Titanic Quarter, it is an iconic location.
“We look at the city and see a fantastic, compact city. You’ve got leisure, retail, hotels – all these occupiers to employ people, and yet, there is no residential. It does feel an absolutely logical path for us.”
Initial proposals include workspace, shops, cafes and restaurants, a gym, pharmacy and creche, with space dedicated to arts and culture. There will be roof terraces, courtyards and lounges and a one-acre central urban park linking to a riverside promenade.
“The scheme is designed to work within the historical context, not against it,” added Pease. “It is a real melting pot of bringing together key stakeholders who all want to see this significant regeneration happen in this area. What we are looking to do is catalyse that with the scheme we bring forward.”
Watkin Jones first entered Belfast in 2015 with a student accommodation scheme at John Bell House. Introducing BTR to the region will enable fast delivery of housing with a focus on communities, attaining a critical mass to support the local economy and further regeneration.
Pease said while others have yet to crack BTR, Watkin Jones is confident, building on its experience in student with a long-term partnership with local developer Lacuna Developments.
Anthony Best, director at Lacuna Developments, said: “As a local developer, we believe this is a positive model for shared community living in Belfast and one of the most ambitious and substantial city centre residential schemes to emerge in recent years, providing much needed homes for people of all ages and backgrounds.”
A debut BTR scheme in Belfast comes as Watkin Jones shifts its focus to BTR for new expansion.
Last month it revealed a £1.5bn pipeline, of which £900m was dedicated to BTR. The expansion will see Watkin Jones tackle larger brownfield regeneration, with co-living and affordable housing, on top of its established student accommodation business.
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