Watkin Jones has reached practical completion of Loftlines, a 627-home build-to-rent (BTR) development in Belfast's Titanic Quarter, marking the delivery of Northern Ireland's first large-scale purpose-built BTR scheme.

The development, delivered for L&G in partnership with Lacuna Developments, was constructed by GRAHAM and is located on Queen's Island within the city's waterfront regeneration area.

Loftlines is one of the largest residential developments completed in Belfast in recent years and adds 627 professionally managed rental homes to the city centre housing market. The scheme includes a mix of studio, one, two and three-bedroom apartments.

The completion comes as demand for professionally managed rental accommodation continues to exceed supply in Belfast, with the development expected to help address housing demand while supporting ongoing regeneration and economic activity in the city.

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Industry figures say Belfast has emerged as an increasingly attractive market for institutional investment in the build-to-rent sector, driven by population growth, city centre regeneration and rising demand for rental homes.

Alongside the apartments, Loftlines features a range of resident amenities, including lounges, private dining rooms, a gym and yoga studio, co-working spaces, games rooms, a TV lounge, children's play areas, roof terraces and landscaped public spaces designed to create a new residential neighbourhood within Titanic Quarter.

The scheme is L&G's first build-to-rent development in Northern Ireland and forms part of its wider UK residential portfolio, which has seen more than £4 billion invested in build-to-rent developments across 12 cities.

Michael Bunyan, Group Development Director at Watkin Jones, said: "Loftlines delivers high-quality homes at scale into the important Belfast market, a city where demand for rental housing continues to outpace supply. It is also an important placemaking scheme, bringing forward new public realm, outdoor space and amenities that will support the continued regeneration of Titanic Quarter and help create a thriving new neighbourhood in the city.

"This is another scheme developed for L&G by Watkin Jones, reflecting both the depth of that demand and our ability to deliver large, complex developments for long-term investment partners in regional cities with attractive fundamentals."