#belfastlough - Belfast Harbour Commissioners has announced that ITV Broadcasting, owners of UTV are the latest tenant for its new £250 million City Quays 2 office development.

City Quays 2 is a new office led development of 20 acres on Belfast's waterfront. UTV is to relocate from its previous home at Havelock House which has been the local broadcasters base since its launch in Northern Ireland in 1959. 

Belfast firm McLaughlin & Harvey has been appointed to fit-out the 11,400 sq ft space and create a modern broadcasting centre complete with HD studio, editing technology and office space for all of UTV’s staff. In addition to Grade ‘A’ office space, City Quays 2 will also include a four-star hotel operated by AC Marriott and a 900-space multi-storey car park.

UTV, which is taking the top floor of City Quays 2, is expected to begin broadcasting from its new studios in the summer of 2018.

Welcoming the move, Graeme Johnston, Belfast Harbour’s Property Director, said: “To confirm a household name such as ITV as the first tenant for City Quays 2 is excellent news and a great reflection on the flexibility of the office space available.”

“Other cities such as Manchester have benefitted from the creation of media quarters such as MediaCityUK and there is the potential to replicate that success here. NBC Universal is already based in City Quays 1, the Belfast Telegraph is located nearby in Clarendon Dock and both the Belfast Harbour Film Studios and Titanic Studios are within easy reach.”

“City Quays 2 has been one of the largest speculative office developments in Northern Ireland in recent years and could ultimately accommodate 1,000 workers.”

Speaking earlier in the year Terry Brennan, Head of News and Programming at UTV said: “We are delighted to have secured the entire eighth floor of this prestigious new building which is in a prime location in central Belfast for our new UTV headquarters. We can see how beneficial this location will be, in terms of the surrounding amenities and transport links for our modern news operation.

“This is also a significant milestone in UTV’s history and represents a multi-million pound investment by ITV since it acquired UTV just over a year ago. We aim to be operational at the new site by the middle of next year, when the detailed technical work will be complete to fit out the new HD studios, edit suites, corporate offices and news, administration, finance and sales areas for our staff.”

#BelfastCityQuays2 – Following planning permission work is begin on a Belfast Harbour led development that forms part of wider £250m City Quays scheme as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

The work on the site of City Quays 2 an office development of 124,000sq ft is due to begin in Quarter 1, 2015 with completion scheduled for mid-2016.

It is estimated the work to build City Quays 2 will help support 600 direct and indirect construction jobs. The Harbour also revealed that the process of preparing tender documentation for the construction work has already begun.

Welcoming the decision, Graeme Johnston, Belfast Harbour's Property Director, said: "This approval gives Belfast Harbour a springboard to construct another much needed Grade 'A' office development for Belfast. Following Invest NI's recent successes the time is right to further invest in City Quays and support the region's economic development.

"This will complement work taking place on an adjacent waterfront office development, City Quays 1, which has already generated a high degree of interest in the market from both growing indigenous businesses and new market entrants.

"City Quays 2 is a landmark building on Belfast's waterfront; a £20m project that will create 600 much needed direct and indirect construction jobs. Like City Quays 1, it will be developed to high environmental standards with an emphasis on reducing tenants' operating costs. It will also provide open plan, flexible floors deigned to meet the needs of dynamic modern enterprises."

City Quays 2 is part of the wider City Quays scheme, a 20-acre office-led, city-centre development, which will also include residential and retail elements, and a hotel. The scheme was granted outline planning permission in June 2014.

Belfast Harbour has already sought expressions of interest from national and international operators for the hotel, a 300,000 sq. ft., 150 to 200 bedroom waterfront project. The Harbour has confirmed that the calibre and number of responses received from operators has exceeded expectations and that the hotel, with a supporting multi-storey car park, could be open by 2017.