An application to build a £50m hotel building in the centre of Belfast has been lodged. Developer Sun Explorer said the 26-storey high building would bring new life to the Castle Street/King Street area of the city. The Vetro building, which will boast a striking glass facade, could provide about 300 jobs, they said. The building would include 144 serviced apartments as well as leisure and conference facilities. Paul Durnien of chartered surveyors Durnien.com said the building would be part of the regeneration of the city."The architect, Colin Conn, who is best known for his work on the Spire at St Anne's Cathedral, has worked with us to create a piece of architectural design that will transform and define the western gateway to the city centre," he said.
The building could be completed within two years, if planning approval is granted. Castle Street is a gateway to West Belfast and the proposed developed has been welcomed by the area's MP Gerry Adams. He said, "Sinn Fein has been campaigning over many years for greater investment in the area around Castle Street, King Street and Bank Square. The regeneration of this area was first proposed in the West Belfast Task Force as a vital part of the economic transformation of the whole constituency. Only a decade ago, Castle Street was still sealed off with a steel security gate between west Belfast and the rest of the city. Today, an investment of this magnitude on the western edge of the city centre presents an opportunity to create a landmark building in the gateway to Belfast's Gaeltacht Quarter."
Two new apartment blocks have been built on King Street in recent years.
