McAleer & Rushe acquired the site last year and intends to build a 135,000 sq ft hotel on McClintock Street and an adjacent 240,000 sq ft student accommodation block of 476 rooms. The hotel will have an entrance facing on to Blackstaff Square.
Belfast City Council has now approved the plans, drawn up by Belfast-based Consarc Design Group, for the 14-storey hotel.
The site sits within an area known as ‘The Linen Quarter’ which is earmarked for regeneration.
McAleer & Rushe property director Stephen Surphlis said: “This is great news for Belfast, as this is a centrally located hotel scheme, which is designed to complement Belfast’s forward looking aspirations and assist in meeting the undersupply in hotel provision. The Belfast leisure market has recovered strongly following the downturn, with figures confirming strong occupancy levels and increasing room rates. This new hotel will help to satisfy increasing demand going forward as Belfast rapidly increases in popularity as a leisure and business destination. We have received strong interest from established hotel operators and have already commenced demolition of the existing college building. We look forward to beginning construction early in 2016”.
McAleer & Rushe also has plans for an 804-room student housing scheme on College Avenue. The hotel and two student housing schemes will create more than 300 jobs during the building phase, the company said.
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