UK: Translink has named MRP, the investment and development arm of construction group McAleer & Rushe, as its master development partner for the Weavers Cross regeneration scheme in Belfast.
MRP has been selected as private sector partner and will bring forward the scheme, which has the potential for 1.3 million square feet of mixed-use office, life sciences, residential, PBSA, hotel and leisure space.
Located in the city centre, the site is next to the new Belfast Grand Central Station – a NI Executive flagship project – which is the key catalyst for Weavers Cross. Construction of the station, which is set to be Ireland’s largest integrated, sustainable transport hub, is well underway and is expected to open in 2025.
The Weavers Cross site benefits from outline planning permission and will have a gross development value of £500 million, stimulating more than £1bn of additional spending in the Northern Ireland economy.
Chris Conway, group chief executive of Translink, said: “We are delighted to partner with MRP on this major regeneration project which will bring significant benefits to Belfast and Northern Ireland. This is the most significant transport led development project in NI and MRP shares our vision for regeneration and placemaking to deliver tangible and lasting positive social, economic and environmental benefits.”
“The international connectivity which the transport hub will bring, along with an imaginative mixed-use development will create an exciting new city centre neighbourhood that will be a catalyst for economic growth. It will also drive a modal shift to public transport and will play a major role in helping achieve the carbon emission reduction targets set out in the NI Climate Change Act,” he added.
Stephen Surphlis, managing director of MRP, said: “We are immensely proud to have been appointed as the master-development partner for Weavers Cross, a very significant project for Belfast’s connectivity and economic prosperity. Developing the site requires an experienced and creative team that has at its core the strong social value credentials required to deliver on this ambitious project and we are delighted to have been chosen as that team. The vision for Weavers Cross is a bold one, marrying world-class urban design that incorporates the very latest sustainable practices to create a new neighbourhood for Belfast that will impact positively on all of Northern Ireland. We are looking forward to commencing this partnership with Translink and engaging with the community and interested parties to make this development a reality, unlocking the project’s huge potential and helping to regenerate the local area.”
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