The stabilisation of Northern Ireland has allowed long overdue development, writes Andy Towler for RICS Business.

The former shipbuilding quarter of Belfast — a 185-acre site on the banks of the River Lagan — is currently subject to Europe’s biggest waterfront development.

Known as the Titanic Quarter because it was the launch site of the ill-fated cruise liner in 1912, the mile-long river frontage will be transformed into more than 5,000 apartments, 180,000m2 of business and office space and 41,000m2 of leisure facilities in a £1bn-plus redevelopment scheme spanning the next 15 years.

“Titanic Quarter will become a major symbol of the economic regeneration of Belfast and Northern Ireland,’ says Mike Smith, Chief Executive of Titanic Quarter Ltd.

Continue reading the article in RICS Business April 2008.