New Housing-Centered Proposal for Belfast's Former Tribeca Site
The owners of the previously controversial Tribeca redevelopment scheme in central Belfast have introduced a new plan emphasizing housing development.
Castlebrooke Investments has held ownership of the extensive site adjacent to St Anne's Cathedral since 2016 but has made limited progress on its redevelopment.
The area has increasingly fallen into disrepair, prompting calls for the scheme to be transferred into public ownership.
Castlebrooke has now submitted a pre-application planning notice proposing the construction of 1,000 new homes alongside two hotels.
The project has also dropped the Tribeca name.
An experienced property consultant, Gerry Hughes, has been appointed to lead the redevelopment initiative.
"The project is now centred on the North Street/Donegall Street area being 'reimagined as a new place to live in Belfast city centre'.
"Our goal is to create a special neighbourhood with a range of new homes that help meet the housing needs of the city and contribute to Belfast City Council's targets for city centre living,"he added.
Plans to redevelop the area, which lies between St Anne's Cathedral and Royal Avenue, have seen little advancement over the past two decades.
A retail-led scheme known as the Royal Exchange was initially proposed by a different developer in 2006.
Although it received planning permission, the project stalled due to the property market crash.
In 2016, the scheme was acquired by Castlebrooke from the Cerberus investment fund, which controlled the loans underlying the properties.
Castlebrooke obtained planning permission for an office-led development in 2020; however, the rise in remote working rendered this plan less viable.
Last year, Castlebrooke sold some of its properties to Belfast City Council.
The council paid approximately £3 million for the historic Assembly Rooms and several adjacent properties.
Castlebrooke stated that its new plan would introduce a new street, along with multiple alleyways and public spaces, to better integrate the neighbourhood into the broader city centre street network.
It also envisions a "revitalised" Writers' Square, a public space situated directly opposite the cathedral.
The use of Writers' Square has been a point of dispute between Castlebrooke and Stormont's Department for Communities, which owns the space.
Castlebrooke plans to hold an in-person public consultation event on 30 June and 1 July at the Masonic Hall on Rosemary Street.
The company intends to submit a full planning application before the end of this year.
