Belfast-based Alterity Investments has secured planning approval to redevelop a 70,000 sq ft former BHS store into a new retail and leisure scheme.
Under the plans for the site, called the Keep, the investor will refurbish and reconfigure the store as part of a multi-million-pound investment.
Alterity bought the property, located on Belfast’s Castle Lane, last year. At that point it had been empty for nearly five years, after BHS collapsed in 2016.
Proposals include a reconfiguration of the ground-floor space into a number of shops and a partial change of use on three upper floors to allow for leisure uses. Permission has also been granted to alter the existing façade on Castle Lane, Castle Arcade and Cornmarket, as well as changes to internal staircases and walls.
Works will begin after the summer and are expected to complete within 12 months.
Richard Faloon, commercial director at Alterity Investments, said: “The project represents a substantial investment in the city centre and we believe that as well as regenerating the site, it will also help revitalise the surrounding area and benefit the existing holdings the company already has in the Castle Lane and Cornmarket area.”
Brian Kidd of Frazer Kidd, which has been appointed as commercial agent for the scheme, said: “Alterity is an investor with a proven track record and it is a vote of confidence in the city that they have committed to bringing this landmark building back into use in a way that meets the needs of modern retailers and leisure operators.
“We have seen really strong interest from international occupiers in the retail and leisure sectors in this prime location between Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter and city centre core, and we hope to be in the position to confirm details of some of those occupiers in the coming months.”
Alterity Investments was founded in 1975 and is a family-owned property and investment company. It has assets valued at more than £100m in the UK, spread across various sectors.
The company owns several buildings in central Belfast, including other retail sites on Castle Lane. Clients include Joules, Waterstones, Lloyds Bank, Starbucks, Costa, Greggs and Cotswold.
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