Royal Exchange, Belfast

Royal Exchange is a planned development based in the North East Quarter of Belfast City Centre. This is a major mixed use regeneration scheme in a prime city centre location, with a total area of 874266sqft. and the opportunity of Hotel, 90000sqft. of office space, 420000sqft of retail space, and 200 residential sites. Ewart Properties have been chosen with their partners ING Real Estate and Snoddon Ltd by the Department for Social Development (DSD) as preferred developer for this city centre site.ConceptThe Royal Exchange Development, located in the North East Quarter of Belfast City Centre, seeks to develop a retail-led mixed use regeneration scheme which will include premium brand shopping, City Centre living and complementary amenities. The concept is based on the development of a new department store alongside two further major stores, complementary high quality retail, restaurants, bars, cafes, apartments and offices (at upper levels). A hotel is to be located between Lower North Street and Church Street, with frontages onto Lower North Street, Church Street and Writers Square. It is proposed that a 700 space, two level basement car park is located between Lower North Street and Donegall Street, also providing a service area for the hotel and department store. The car park is accessed and exited from Lower North Street. Cultural accommodation is proposed within the former Northern Bank building, which has been identified for a small theatre, studios, community art gallery with a small amount of speciality retail. The total floor area of the scheme is in the region of 800000sqft which includes approximately 420000sqft of retail.Project concernIn November 2008 Belfast City Council gave William Ewart properties and Snoddon Construction 9 months to bring forward plans to regenerate semi-derelict areas between Donegall Street and Royal Avenue. The council said it has yet to hear any proposals. The scheme was announced by the government in 2006 and was meant to have been completed by 2011. The Department for Social Development is aiming make an announcement about the future of the scheme and associated timescales in the near future.