Belfast City Council (BCC) is seeking to establish a long-term arrangement with an investor or development partner to bring forward sustainable, residential-led regeneration with placemaking, people and connectivity at its heart.

Four key city centre sites have initially been earmarked for development, with the potential for further sites across the city to be identified in due course.

Cllr Ryan Murphy, Chair of BCC's City Growth and Regeneration Committee said: "We want to build on the momentum of Belfast’s recent significant developments, such as the new Ulster University campus and the redevelopment of Grand Central Transport Hub, to unlock regeneration potential across a range of strategic city centre sites.

"We’ve made a commitment with our partners in The Belfast Agenda to increase our city’s population by 66,000 residents. We're focused on creating a better quality of life for all our citizens, and we want to increase the number of homes in Belfast by 31,600 by 2035. Other European cities have vibrant, mixed-use and liveable city centres, with plenty of accommodation choices including social, affordable, private for sale and to rent. We want to deliver that in Belfast, so that our city realises its full potential as a fantastic place in which to live, work, play and study."

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The successful partner or partners will need to take on board the ambitions of relevant strategic documents, including The Belfast Agenda, Belfast City Centre Regeneration and Investment Strategy and A Bolder Vision and demonstrate a commitment to placemaking, connectivity and community engagement.

Across all sites, it is vital that the public realm celebrates and preserves the area’s existing qualities, including understanding existing communities and the historic environment. Placemaking is not only about good quality public realm, it also provides the opportunity to maximise social, economic, and environmental assets. The council is looking for a partner who will also demonstrate the capacity to take bold, creative approaches, deliver high quality design and consider the needs and opinions of a wide range of communities and stakeholders.

Keith Hardman, Head of UK Development and Strategic Advisory at Cushman and Wakefield, commented: "Cushman and Wakefield are very pleased to be supporting Belfast City Council in the partner selection process for this exciting multi-site development project. It represents an excellent residential-led, mixed-use opportunity for developers and investors to play a major role in the continuing transformation and growth of Belfast city centre as a destination for sustainable high quality, city living."