The Signature Living Group has purchased the Crumlin Road Courthouse in Belfast and will invest £25m to restore the building.
It will become the first of up to five new hotels that the luxury hotel developer will bring to city in the next three years.
Signature Living’s founder and chairman Lawrence Kenwright said that his key focus will be on preserving the architectural heritage of the Charles Lanyon-designed Courthouse, built in 1850.
Last month, Signature Living also announced that it would also bring a George Best-themed hotel to Belfast later this year.
He said: “The Courthouse is in a state of disrepair and our focus will be on sympathetically restoring the building to its former glory in a way that is both true to its architectural heritage, and aligns with the exciting style for which Signature Living is reputed.
“We see ourselves simply as custodians of these important buildings and the Courthouse will very much still belong to the people of Belfast. For us, this is an investment in the local Belfast community and, as well committing around £25m to the restoration project, we will be investing in a series of community initiatives – including the launch of a special apprenticeship academy – in the coming months.”
Belfast City Council chief executive Suzanne Wylie added: “A surge in tourism in Belfast in recent years has brought about a need for more than 2,000 additional beds, so this hotel is good news for the city and complements steps being taken to continuing driving a growth in visitor numbers to the city through initiatives such as the IRFU Rugby World Cup 2023 bid and the European Capital of Culture 2023 bid.
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