Castlebrooke Investments has announced a series of amendments to its massive £500m Tribeca Belfast regeneration proposal for Belfast's Cathedral Quarter.If you've been following the ongoing story of the Tribeca Belfast project, you'll know it hasn't been plain sailing for this ambitious regeneration initiative. Headed up by investment firm Castlebrooke Investments, the massive £500m regeneration project plans to reinvent part of the historic Cathedral Quarter of Belfast with over 1,500,000 sq ft of residential, retail, and office space in the city centre.
The backlash to the project started when
the name was announced as Tribeca Belfast, a nod to the Tribeca area in New York that houses many former industrial buildings rennovated into offices and residential suites. People complained that the name lacked any real connection with Belfast and that the Cathedral Quarter area has significant historic value already that wasn't being respected.
The project faced a significant setback when Belfast City Council opposed the area's name, and public opposition rose with
groups such as Save the Cathedral Quarter objecting on the grounds that the project would also involve demolishing 21 historically significant buildings.
Now Castlebrooke is back with an amended proposal designed to counter the objections lodged against the scheme. The changes in this version of the proposal include further retention of the historic street areas of North Street and Donegall Street, significantly reduced heights on several office blocks to maintain the skyline, and North Street Arcade 'will return in a new format with space for independent retailers.'
Castlebrooke has now launched a voluntary 10 week public consultation process on the project to solicit further feedback, and are engaging conservation architects from Belfast-based Consarc Design Group to work alongside their architects and ensure the city's historic interests are addressed. Following this, it expects to lodge its formal proposal for the regeneration project in Autumn this year.
Neil Young, chief executive of Castlebrooke Investments, commented on the public consultation process: "We will continue to listen and today we have launched a voluntary public consultation process into these planned changes ahead of the submission of our application. Our community exhibition will provide an opportunity for anyone interested to see the new plans and we will be revealing more information about this in the coming weeks."
Source: Written based on press release
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Brendan is a Sync NI writer with a special interest in the gaming sector, programming, emerging technology, and physics. To connect with Brendan, feel free to send him an email or follow him on Twitter.
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