The £175 million urban residential community, Loft Lines, at Titanic Quarter in Belfast will be brought to life with L&G and Clanmil Housing Association. Watkin Jones has forward funded the project with £155m.
This project will see the current brownfield site transformed into a vibrant new community, creating 778 homes; comprising 627 Build to Rent (BTR) units and 151 affordable homes.
The Loft Lines will be a brand-new urban riverside community built on Queen's Island, in the centre of Titanic Quarter, Belfast. It will include lounges, sports and recreational spaces, gyms, flexible working space, private dining spaces, games rooms, cinema rooms and children's play areas. The BTR scheme is surrounded by an urban woodland with parks and walkways. The development design has a 'resident first' approach; prioritising pedestrians and cyclists over the use of cars, supporting the city's aim to reduce its carbon footprint.
Alex Pease, Chief Investment Officer, Watkin Jones, said: "We are delighted to have secured institutional investment from both L&G and Clanmil Housing Association for this landmark scheme in Belfast's iconic Titanic Quarter. This is further evidence of the attractive investment and operational fundamentals of both BTR as a sector and Belfast as a city and a good sign of capital markets re-opening.
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"Watkin Jones has a strong track record of developing large regeneration sites and we are delighted to bring the first BTR scheme to the city of Belfast. Titanic Quarter will develop an area that is steeped in rich history, transforming this brownfield site into a thriving place to live and acting as a catalyst for wider regeneration. We are very pleased to continue investing to support Belfast’s ambitions. The development is being brought to fruition by a true partnership approach between all stakeholders and funders and we are grateful for the genuine collaboration we have experienced with our partners. The scheme offers excellent employment opportunities with growth across many industries in the city. Belfast offers a wide range of shops, bars, and restaurants along with a thriving arts and music scene, making it a truly fantastic place to both work and live."
Anthony Best, Managing Director, Lacuna Developments, commented: "This is another significant step forward for city centre living in Belfast. For Lacuna to be involved in the first purpose-built student accommodation scheme in 2015 and now the first mixed tenure housing scheme in the city centre is very pleasing and shows our company's commitment to Belfast our home city. Loft Lines will deliver Build to Rent, affordable and social housing as well large amounts of public realm and major green travel measures.
"The ambitions for Belfast city centre are huge but to be involved in Loft Lines which will support the growth planned under the Belfast Agenda is fantastic. The partnership approach by all stakeholders, Belfast City Council and L&G has been great to be part of and required a huge amount of work by all to reach this stage. We look forward starting the project with Grahams very shortly in what will be a three-year project and will be a game changing regeneration scheme for Titanic Quarter and the wider city."
James Eyre, Commercial Director, Titanic Quarter Ltd, added: "It is very exciting to see Loft Lines progress to construction phase, delivering Belfast's first major build to rent, social and affordable residential project in Titanic Quarter. We are delighted to be working in partnership with Lacuna, Watkin Jones, Legal and General and Clanmil, playing our part in bringing the project to fruition. The Loft Lines is a super component of the continuing mixed-use regeneration of Titanic Quarter and supports Belfast's growth ambitions set out in the Belfast Agenda."
