Business

Student scheme built with £21m loan from Stormont-backed fund opens next to Ulster University

The 11-storey ‘Edge’ development is due to open on September 14

The Edge, developed by Durham-based ROK Property, and London investor Bridges Fund Management, includes 307-units on the corner of York Street and Frederick Street.
The Edge, developed by Durham-based ROK Property, and London investor Bridges Fund Management, includes 307-units on the corner of York Street and Frederick Street.
By Ryan McAleer

A new student accommodation scheme built in Belfast with a £21.3 million loan from a Stormont-backed investment fund, will open next to Ulster University’s city centre campus next week.

The 307-unit ‘Edge’ development is based on the corner of York Street and Frederick Street.

It has been developed by Durham-based ROK Property and London investor Bridges Fund Management.

The scheme, which charges between £149 and £205 per week for its accommodation, was built with the help of a loan from the Northern Ireland Investment Fund (NIIF)

Using money from Stormont’s financial transactions capital (FTC) funding pot, the NIIF operates as a private sector entity managed by CBRE, providing debt funding for ‘commercial property, regeneration and low carbon projects’.

Projects it has helped finance in Belfast include Merchant Square, the Paper Exchange, Room2 and JMK’s new Titanic Quarter hotel.

The Edge, which will be managed by Prestige Student Living, is preparing to welcome its first student tenants on September 14.

The developers claim it is “Northern Ireland’s most eco-friendly student block”, with five new full-time jobs based on site.

Sunderland-based Student City Ltd originally secured planning permission for the 11 storey scheme in 2017.

A three-storey building on the site, originally erected in the 1840s, was demolished in 2022 to make way for the new development.

The Edge charges between £149 and £205 per week for its student accommodation.
The Edge charges between £149 and £205 per week for its student accommodation.

Dylan Lindsay, director at ROK Property said it marks the firm’s first student scheme in Northern Ireland.

“The building will be a major addition to the accommodation offering around the new Ulster University campus and will play a role in helping to meet the needs of the student population in the city centre,” he said.

“Throughout the design process, sustainability was important to us.

“We worked to ensure The Edge is Northern Ireland’s most eco-friendly student block, offering students a stylish yet affordable living experience, with the most flexible tenancies available anywhere in the city.”

Guy Bowden, partner at London-based Bridges Fund Management said: “Belfast, we felt there was a clear shortage of high-quality purpose-built accommodation to house the University’s growing student population.

“We set out to meet this need by creating a scheme with best-in-class sustainability credentials that would also support students’ wellbeing.”