PLANS have been submitted for a new £30 million Belfast hotel in the heart of the city's Titanic Quarter.
Just months after unveiling initial proposals and following the conclusion of a public consultation process, hospitality specialists the JMK Group has lodged an application for a 276-bed hotel, just a stone's throw from Titanic Belfast.
The 3.2 acre Hamilton Dock project also features conference facilities, restaurant and bar provision (including a roof top bar), landscaped public realm and 100 car parking spaces.
The initial proposals have been amended following public feedback, with the new plans featuring a reduction in the overall building height to six-storeys - bringing it in line with the Titanic Hotel, as well as additional cycle stand provision and active ground floor space.
For the family-owned JMK Group, headed by dynamic entrepreneur John Kajani, it will be its first investment in Northern Ireland and the Group has said the hotel can be up and running by summer 2021.
No brand for the hotel has yet been been designated by JMK, but it currently works across the UK and Ireland in collaboration with the likes of Hampton by Hilton, Aloft, Seraphine and Holiday Inn.
JMK Group's Dublin projects include the redevelopment of Findlater House on O'Connell Street into a 198-room Holiday Inn Express, which opened in 2016, a 421-bedroom hotel under construction near Dublin Airport, and the Waterford Marina Hotel.
Speaking earlier this year, a spokesman for JMK Group said the project is a response to increased demand from families, who see Belfast and the Titanic Quarter as a family friendly destination.
“Titanic Belfast is among the leading tourist destinations in the world so we are confident that tourism will continue to be an engine of economic growth for Belfast and that is why we are investing in that future, tailoring our offer to the needs of the city," they said
“We bring a wealth of experience in the tourism and hospitality sector to Belfast, already having a presence in Dublin and Waterford as well as experience in the London hotel market.”
Brian Kelly, a director at the project's planning consultants Turley, added: “We're delighted that a leading UK hotel developer like JMK has chosen Titanic Quarter as its first location in Northern Ireland.
“This significant investment will support the area's successful evolution into a world-class tourism destination, an international exhibition and conferencing location and a hub of local, national and international business and education.”
If given the green light, the Hamilton Dock facility will further enhance Belfast's burgeoning hotels stock (in 2018 alone 10 new hotels were completed, adding more than 1,200 new rooms).
The submission of the planning application comes just a week after English firm ReefLIVE revealed proposals for a £10m aquarium on the neighbouring Queen's Road.
Due to open in early 2021 if granted planning approval, the proposed aquarium, to be located opposite the Titanic Hotel, will be the largest ocean visitor attraction on the island of Ireland and is expected to attract more than 300,000 people each year.
