THE company behind the £450 million redevelopment of the former Sirocco Works site in Belfast has said they hope to be on site "early next year".
Speaking to The Irish News, Patricia Hanson, director of communication and marketing at Osborne and Co said they are "really excited" about the Belfast Waterside project after receiving planning permission for the £50m first phase last month. They hope the first phase of works, which includes a 13-storey Grade A office scheme, accommodating up to 2,500 employees, will be operational by 2021. The development is set to deliver the first major employment activity at the former Howden Sirocco site in almost 20 years.
"Our plan now is to go on site early next year," Ms Hanson said.
"One of the benefits of working with Osborne and Co is that we usually are known for being finished quicker rather than slower. We usually run 21 to 24 months from start to finish."
Looking ahead and Ms Hanson said the developer is currently "seriously engaged" with planners, with the submission of the next phase of the project - a 400 apartment residential scheme and cultural centre due in the coming months. Completion of the entire £450m project is on schedule for 2023/14.
Ms Hanson was speaking after the first programmed activity in more than a decade was held at the Sirocco Works site - the programme launch of the fourth Open House Belfast Architecture Festival. The former marketing suite at the site is among the landmark buildings, which will be opened to the public for the festival, which runs next month from October 19 to 21.
"It is a fitting location for such a launch, bringing people into an area that, as a result of our ambitious plans, will become a focal part of Belfast’s flourishing creative eco-system, linking east Belfast and the city centre.
"The £450 million masterplan for The Waterside will see the currently derelict site regenerated to become a place full of life and industry, with a mix of 700 new homes including private, affordable, and social housing, modern office accommodation, a new creative space, and vibrant public spaces. A pedestrian and cycle bridge will help connect this missing piece to the rest of the city."
"We really want this to be a connection, it's not a standalone site, we see this as the city centre with the Lagan flowing through it and all we're doing is basically facilitating that by putting in a community sense. So you have the combination as you do in any city where you've got business, you've got residential, you've got retail, you've got social activities, you've got the community services and we're filling in the gap," she added.
The Waterside project is being brought forward by a multi-disciplinary team including Danish architects Henning Larsen, and locally by Turley, Simon Brien Residential, Lambert Smith Hampton, Colliers International, Marks and AECOM.
It is hoped the regeneration project at the 16-acre site could create as many as 5,500 jobs, 750 homes and almost 850,000 sq ft of contemporary office space.
Last week Osborne and Co was chosen as development partner to deliver Santander’s new technology headquarters in Milton Keynes, providing workspace for more than 5,000 people
