New student flats plan for Tele’s old car park
Belfast city centre looks set to get a boost with a car park which once belonged to the Belfast Telegraph earmarked for a 790-bed block of student flats.
Mandeville Developments NI, led by Colin Donaldson, has already secured planning permission for the project at the junction of Little Donegall Street, Library Street and Union Street.
The long-delayed Ulster University campus is due to open to 15,000 students and staff this September, though the Mandeville scheme is unlikely to be completed until the September 2024 academic year.
More than 4,000 new student units have been built in the past six years, prompted by the relocation of the UU campus from Jordanstown into the city.
Mr Donaldson said: “We are delighted to be supporting the growth of student accommodation in Belfast.
“Throughout the pandemic we have seen the high demand and clear need for more managed student residences, as students from both universities have struggled to find appropriate accommodation.
‘City centre population growth’
“With the completion of the Belfast campus for Ulster University, it’s expected that an even greater proportion of students will choose to live in the city centre close to the campus.
“Our proposal for circa 790 new high-end beds demonstrates our commitment to support the regeneration of under-utilised spaces in Belfast, contributing to the growth of the city centre population envisaged in the Belfast Agenda.
“By providing the beds needed we can ensure that this city can continue to alleviate local demand and attract students from around the globe.”
The new building will be designed by Like Architects with project managers WT Partnership.
McAleer & Rushe and Belfast City Council, which own the old Belfast Telegraph building, have planning permission to convert it into 230,000 sq ft of office space to be known as The Sixth. a reference to the sales cry from street sellers of the newspaper’s sixth edition.
