Elkstone plans 850-student-bed development as demand surges
Dublin-based investment firm Elkstone Partners has announced plans to build an 850-bedroom block of student accommodation in Belfast.
The scheme at 39 Corporation Street is on the edge of the city centre and close to the Ulster University campus.
The firm has already built student accommodation in Galway, Cork and Dublin. It will unveil a scheme of 156 student rooms at Bradbury Place in south Belfast over the summer.
Elkstone Partners said the Corporation Street site would address “continued demand for student accommodation” in Belfast.
Ciarán McIntyre, Elkstone Partners co-founder and head of real estate, said: “Located a short walk from the Ulster University campus, the development of 39 Corporation Street would deliver significant regeneration and vibrancy to an under-utilised city centre area steeped in tradition and full of potential.
“It represents a major investment that will deliver very tangible economic benefits, generating increased footfall and economic activity that businesses will welcome.
“The 39 Corporation Street scheme would assist in meeting the future vision of a higher density city centre whilst being sensitive to the provision of appropriate and usable external amenity spaces.”
The scheme is to combine self-contained studios with private kitchens, and clusters of single bedrooms with ensuites and a shared kitchen, living and dining space. There would also be amenities such as a gym, laundry, cinema, common room, social space, study area and retail and services on the ground floor.
At the moment, there are empty offices and a car park on the site for the proposed scheme, which is bounded by Corporation Street, Gamble Street and Tomb Street.
A spokesman said: “Further information regarding the 39 Corporation Street proposal will be provided in the coming weeks as Elkstone Partners delivers a community consultation period that will include public information events and media advertising.”
Blocks of accommodation aimed at Belfast city centre’s growing student population have been mushrooming in recent years since Ulster University announced its intention to move to a new city centre campus in 2012.
The York Street building began welcoming students in September 2021. Last month, South Bank Square confirmed it had submitted a planning application for a £55m (€64m) purpose-built student accommodation of nearly 600 rooms on the site of Fanum House in Great Victoria Street.
And in Titanic Quarter, a proposed ‘student village’ could see four blocks built – ranging from five to nine storeys – between the new Olympic House office building and Belfast Metropolitan College.
The proposal from Watkin Jones Group and Lacuna Developments would accommodate up to 1,200 students. Full plans have now been submitted.
Elkstone Partners’ purchase of 30 to 44 Bradbury Place close to Queen’s University Belfast was the first time the wealth management firm had acquired property in Northern Ireland.
Speaking in 2021, Mr McIntyre said: “Purpose-built student accommodation has been a key strand of our real estate investment strategy for a number of years, and with clear demand for such accommodation in Belfast we are certainly keen to explore further opportunities.”