Adding vibrancy to complement retail and office bedrocks

Retail remains one of the bedrocks of the city centre

The challenge of ensuring a vibrant and animated city centre is an ongoing one in Belfast. It is recognised that societal changes in shopping habits, alongside hybrid working patterns, continue to place pressure on city centres to evolve and innovate in terms of their role and use. While the survey has no new retail and only one new office development (a refurbishment of a listed building) these remain mainstays of the city centre. 

Belfast City Council’s stocktake found positive evidence in management of the retail offer (e.g. 57% of city centre retailers are independent versus 43% in 2015, alongside a reducing ground floor vacancy rate). This is supported by Council policies such as the Vacant to Vibrant Capital Grant scheme. New brands have entered the city and others have invested in larger premises. Visitors arriving at Grand Central Station will have an attractive retail offer.   

That said, vacant units and undeveloped sites, not least the substantial Tribeca, remain a concern. Indeed, at the time of writing, a debate has been called in the Assembly to consider options for this increasingly run down area. The City Council stocktake also called out the need to “ensure a viable future for the North East Quarter (North Street / Royal Avenue area)”.

The evolving office story: Slowing down and changing direction?

Across the nine years of the Belfast Crane Survey, office developments have featured more than any other category, with 24 developments completed and two underway during that period. Notably, for the first time, this year’s Crane Survey recorded no office completions, whilst only one new office scheme started construction in 2024. This comprises the refurbishment of the listed Transport House with a modest scale of 24,000 sq. ft. The trade union, Unite, are going to move into the building, which has been empty for the last ten years.

In spring 2025, the Kainos office building is due to start construction on the Dublin Road. Enabling works have been undertaken on the site, as the office is adjacent to the Queens student accommodation already under construction. This will be the first new build office on our survey since 2020, when Olympic House in Titanic Quarter and the Paper Exchange in Chichester Street commenced. In that year, the Crane Survey reported that 11 Grade A office developments were under construction or completed in 2020, amounting to over 1.3m sq. ft. Our more recent surveys have demonstrated that a lot has changed since then.

Belfast office market reflecting wider trends

As per other cities in the Crane Survey, there is a move to refurbishments rather than new builds. Of the last ten office projects in the Crane Survey, seven are refurbishments and three are new builds. The three new builds include The Ewart at Bedford Square, a contemporary 16 tower office block, which was developed alongside the listed Ewart Building. However, the scale does differ. In our sample of ten, the three new builds provided over 480,000 sq. ft. compared to approximately 370,000 sq. ft. across the seven refurbishment projects. One other notable factor is refurbishment projects bringing heritage architecture to the fore, including Pearl Assurance, the Printworks, Custom House, the Ewart and Transport House, a big positive for the city’s placemaking.

On the supply side, the ESG agenda is stimulating the need for renewal. It ties together a combination of tightening planning policy, increasing focus on moving towards net zero and investors desire to support assets that meet occupiers’ ESG expectations. Refurbishment is a trend to pay attention to over coming years. 

On the demand side agents report evidence of demand for smaller floorplates with high quality “tenant ready” space and businesses taking their time with decision making. These spaces aren’t banks of desks, but are instead attractively designed spaces to encourage and enable collaboration and team working. For example, Deloitte’s new space in The Ewart has been designed with these factors at the fore.

The cultural vibe

Adding to Belfast’s vibrancy there are multiple leisure and cultural additions that have arrived recently or are progressing. Looking at five examples, it is noticeable that all are refurbished existing buildings (three changing from retail, two from offices). Three are listed and a fourth is in a conservation area. Recent examples include the Avenue Cinema re-purposing retail space within Castlecourt and 2 Royal Avenue creating a community and cultural hub in the former Tesco’s. During 2024, the Golden Thread Gallery relocated to Queen Street1, into a building that is not listed but is in a conservation area, supported by the Vacant to Vibrant scheme. Looking ahead, Belfast Stories is progressing, incorporating the listed art deco Bank of Ireland on Royal Avenue alongside new build and public realm. To the south of the City Hall in the Linen Quarter, the Royal Irish regiment Charity has acquired the listed 19th Century former linen warehouse at 28 Bedford Street, Belfast. The property will house the Belfast galleries of a consolidated museum, bringing together collections to tell the story of “The Irish Soldier in the British Army”.

A vibrant visitor sector supporting hotel growth

Of course, to have life, what the city centre really needs is people. Alongside the significant student population now more spread out in student residences across the city centre (see “Higher education driving change” article), there are signs that the visitor population is rising with an uptick in hotel development. In 2023, Room2 was the first hotel completion in five years, while in 2024 63 rooms at the Flint Hotel  opened. 20 rooms also completed at the Foundary, below our Crane Survey threshold. Notably, all of these developments changed use from office and retail into hotels with bars and restaurants. Meanwhile the Aloft and Residence Inn by Marriot, with 228 rooms, is going up fast beside Titanic Belfast and is due to complete by the end of 2025.

Hotel occupancy rates in the city are above 80%, accompanied by strong revenue growth. Industry data also points towards sustained growth from key visitor markets. Unsurprisingly, with approximately 2,000 bedrooms across 14 hotels receiving planning approval since 2020, further hotel developments are anticipated across the city centre.

There is an indication that the emerging mix of these factors, including refurbished heritage buildings for office or hotel use and the working and visitor populations they attract, independent retail, enhanced culture and leisure offerings, will collectively make an important contribution to vibrancy, and also, to a stronger sense of place.