EAST Belfast's long-established Park Avenue Hotel could be razed to the ground and the site sold for housing or shops, it has emerged.
The loss-making Holywood Road property was bought out of administration last August by entrepreneur Bill Wolsey's Beannchor Group, whose other hotels include the Merchant and Bullitt.
But despite Beannchor's best efforts to make the hotel work, it says business "continues to fall behind expectations".
And a review has now been launched to consider "alternative uses", which in addition to further developing the hotel, will include commercial and residential options.
The Park Avenue, a favoured venue for the DUP (its senior leadership team including Arlene Foster and local MP Gavin Robinson met there as recently two weeks ago), has experienced weak financial standing for a number of years, having attempted creditors voluntary arrangements and more recently having been placed in administration prior to Beannchor rescue.
A spokesman for Beannchor said: “The Park Avenue has unfortunately been struggling for some time, and despite our intervention, business continues to fall behind expectations.
“From the outset we were aware of the challenges facing the hotel, and notwithstanding our best efforts, these difficulties persist.
“During this review process, we will continue to strive to ensure the future employment of Park Avenue staff as a priority.”
But as part of the review, a Proposal of Application Notice (PAN) has been submitted to Belfast City Council relating to the potential development of residential units on the lands occupied by the hotel.
The spokesman added: “The submission of a proposal of application notice to the council for the site is a due diligence step to assess the feasibility of alternative uses on the grounds.
“In tandem with this we will continue to focus on driving business forward whilst remaining alert to our commercial responsibilities.”
Following the submission of the PAN notice, Beannchor will begin a pre-application community consultation process on the future potential use of the site, which includes a drop-in event for the proposal on April 29 in the hotel from 3pm-7pm.
