The area is now home to 100 companies with one-and-half million square feet of developed land.
Pictured with an original CGI of Titanic Belfast in front of the completed development is Conal Harvey, Titanic Quarter’s Executive Vice Chairman
It has become one of Northern Ireland’s most iconic landmarks - and now plans have been revealed for hundreds of millions of pounds worth of further redevelopment at Titanic Quarter.
Launched 10 years ago - with almost £360million of investment sailing in during the past decade - Titanic Quarter has breathed new life into what was a forgotten but essential part of Belfast’s history.
The area is now home to 100 companies with one-and-half million square feet of land developed.
And over the next five years plans are afoot for a further investment of £395million to develop three million square feet of mixed use space.
This will include one million square feet of office space and four hotels, among them a boutique hotel in the former Harland & Wolff headquarters building due to open next year.
Major developments already located in the 185-acre Titanic Quarter include Titanic Belfast, the Titanic Studios where Game of Thrones is filmed, the Northern Ireland Science Park and most recently, the Titanic Exhibition Centre.
Pat Doherty, Titanic Quarter Ltd’s Chairman, said: “Ten years ago when the master-plan for Titanic Quarter was unveiled in the historic Drawing Offices, Titanic Quarter was a very different place. The area, which once thronged to the sound of 35,000 shipyard workers and was the epicentre of Northern Ireland’s industry, had largely fallen silent.
“Today Titanic Quarter is Northern Ireland’s stand-out global investment project, a transformative development acting as a bridgehead for new investors and new industries such as film and TV production. It’s also a space for major leisure, entertainment and outdoor events, fulfilling its ambition to be a vibrant new, shared urban quarter for Belfast.
“This is, however, just the beginning. Over the course of the next five years Titanic Quarter aims to complete Phase II, investing a further £395m, creating three million square feet and attracting a further 9,000 jobs to the area.”
Pictured with an original CGI of Titanic Quarter’s ARC Residential Complex in front of the completed development is Conal Harvey, Titanic Quarter’s Executive Vice Chairman
The official 2005 launch of Titanic Quarter was attended by the then Secretary of State, Peter Hain, the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Wallace Browne and the development’s lead architect, Eric Kuhne, from Civic Arts.
At the event in 2005 Mr Kuhne said: “In the past, this part of Belfast was a world leader in engineering and technological innovation. The new vision for Titanic Quarter creates that opportunity again through the building of a new community that restores the prestige of urban living in Belfast and establishes an environment for the new entrepreneurial class in the city to emerge.”
Conal Harvey, Titanic Quarter Ltd’s Executive Vice-Chairman said: “Titanic Quarter’s strength is the diversity of its components - offices, tourism, creative media, technology, residential and education.
“As the economy has evolved since 2005, so too has Titanic Quarter. The original master-plan, for example, didn’t include film studios, but the opportunity to redevelop a former industrial paint hall into the Titanic Studios became the catalyst for Northern Ireland’s burgeoning production industry.
“No doubt plans for Phase II will also evolve, but we’re confident that Titanic Quarter will continue to be a major driver of jobs and wealth for the wider Northern Ireland economy.”
Tenants in Titanic Quarter include Citi, Microsoft, IBM and SAP. It is also home to the Titanic Campus of Belfast Metropolitan College, Northern Ireland’s Public Record Office and a Premier Inn Titanic Belfast has attracted more than two million visitors from over 120 countries since opening in 2012, generating an £105million in additional tourist revenue for the Northern Ireland economy.