Titanic Quarter, Belfast
Completed projects
The largest development is the £97M Titanic Belfast visitor attraction which holds the record for the island's largest ever single concrete pour (4300 cubic metres) for its foundations. The building opened on 31 March 2012 and welcomed over 800,000 visitors in its first year. The attraction is owned and run by a charitable foundation.[1] The architects said that "we have created an architectural icon that captures the spirit of the shipyards, ships, water crystals, ice, and the White Star Line's logo. Its architectural form cuts a skyline silhouette that has been inspired by the very ships that were built on this hallowed ground."[2]
2005 saw the launch of the Northern Ireland Science Park, a hi-tech science park affiliated closely with Queen's University Belfast and University of Ulster and Titanic Studios (aka the Paint Hall Studios, a film studio originally created by film producer Jo Gilbert)[3] and used during the production of films including Tom Hanks's City of Ember starring Bill Murray, Your Highness and HBO's television series Game of Thrones.[4]
In September 2011, the largest education facility in Northern Ireland - Belfast Institute for Further and Higher Education (now Belfast Metropolitan College) relocated to a new £44 million campus in Titanic Quarter.
Belfast Harbour Marina opened in the centre of Titanic Quarter in 2009 as part of the Belfast Tall Ships Festival. Located in the Abercorn Basin, it features 40 berths for leisure craft, it was funded by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and Belfast Tall Ships 2009 Ltd. It is the forerunner to a future 200 berth marina in the Titanic Quarter.[5]
In November 2010 the first hotel, a Premier Inn featuring 120 bedrooms and an onsite restaurant, opened in Titanic Quarter. Over 40 new jobs were created.[6]
Belfast Audi, operated by the Agnew Group, opened its new 41,785 square feet (3,882.0 m2) headquarters and car showroom in November 2010. Located at 80 Sydenham Road, it created 115 new jobs.[7]
The first residential development in Titanic Quarter was completed in December 2010. The Arc (Abercorn Residential Complex) comprises 474 apartments and retail outlets located adjacent to Abercorn Basin.[8]
The new £30 million headquarters of the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland opened at 2 Titanic Boulevard in April 2011.[9]
Sport
In September 2014, Northern Irish boxer Carl Frampton won the IBF world super-bantamweight title in a specially constructed outdoor arena in the Titanic Quarter in front of 16,000 fans,[10] Northern Ireland's biggest ever boxing crowd.[11]
Transport
The Titanic Quarter is served by Translink Metro Services 26, 26A, 26B 26C, 600A and 600B bus services, which runs from Donegall Square North (Across from City Hall) to Holywood Exchange, Northern Ireland Science Park, Belfast Metropolitan College and Belfast City Airport, via The SSE Arena, Queens Road, Titanic Belfast and Belfast Harbor Estate East.
The area is also served by NI Railways services to Titanic Quarter (Bridge End) station, which is the first station heading towards Bangor on the Belfast-Bangor railway line from Belfast Central.
See also
References
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- ↑ http://www.urbanrealm.com/news/3445/Titanic_Belfast_unveiled.html
- ↑ http://www.4rfv.co.uk/industrynews.asp?id=4425
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- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/boxing/29096303
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/boxing/28990269
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