Gasworks hotel development to create 100 jobs

Belfast City Council have welcomed the announcement today that work has started on the new £14 million 140-bedroom Radisson SAS hotel at the former Gasworks site. The development is expected to net around 100 jobs.

Councillor Chrissie McAuley, Chairman of the Council’s Development Committee, said that the development of a prestige hotel on the Gasworks site always has been "an important and integral element of the Council’s plans".

Councillor McAuley added: "The decision of an internationally recognized and respected brand such as Radisson SAS to locate at the Gasworks is testimony to the Council’s faith and belief in the vital role which a development of this nature can play in fulfilling the Council’s vision for the future of Belfast as a capital city of international standing.”

Following the cessation of gas production at the site in the late 1980s, Belfast City Council looked at ways in which one of the city’s most famous landmarks could be regenerated for the future, utilizing Belfast’s industrial heritage upon which to build for the future.

Phased redevelopment of the 23-acre former Gasworks site began in 1998, with the Council entering into partnership with Laganside and other key public and private sector agencies to fulfill its vision of using the site’s central location as a catalyst for regeneration – offering a vibrant mix of business, leisure and community activity in an attractive landscaped setting.

“To date, over half of the estate has been successfully developed,” said Councillor McAuley.

“The former Gas Office building fronting Ormeau Road has been restored and other listed buildings such as the Meter House and the Klondyke are due for restoration in the near future. These restoration projects, together with complementary new build programmes, have resulted, to date, in the creation of more than half-a-million square feet of offices and business units – housing a diverse range of businesses and services, from software companies to banks, craft workshops to the Belfast Giants.

She added: "Belfast City Council has taken the lead in bringing the Gasworks back to life, breathing renewed vitality into an industrial landscape which provided the lifeblood of the City for so many years."

(GMcG)