Belfast: Meet the businesses revitalising abandoned buildings

Businesses in Belfast are breathing new life into vacant properties throughout the city. Belfast City Council's "Empty to Active" scheme is providing businesses with the financial support they need, while also helping to address the high number of empty buildings in the city. The scheme aims to encourage more footfall and spending, make the streets more attractive, and provide a more diverse offering for shoppers, office workers, students, and tourists.

For example, a New York-style bagel shop called Bodega Bagels opened on Royal Avenue in October. Owner Steven Allor said the scheme's funding was "a massive help," allowing them to fit out their kitchen space "without having to take on huge debt, loans and all the pressure." Allor and his business partner saw the potential in Royal Avenue a few years ago, believing it could become as thriving as the Queen's Quarter and Botanic Avenue with the opening of the new Ulster University campus.

Allor recalled that they had their eye on a unit that used to be a coffee shop, thinking it was "absolutely perfect, on a corner, all red brick, big windows, it just looked like a New York bagel shop." They "took the risk and moved in early," while the Belfast Stories visitor attraction is also expected to open nearby, and there are plans for a conference center at the former Belfast Telegraph building. Allor stated that they hope it will become a "very busy area of the town."

Another business to benefit from the "Empty to Active" scheme is Sloan's Gym on Church Lane, run by Curtis and Johnny Sloan. The gym has retained memorabilia from its predecessor, the Eastwood Gym where Barry McGuigan trained, and now has another unique selling point: a rooftop workout space. They used the majority of their funding to install an electric awning, which covers half the roof and provides shelter when it's raining or cold. Johnny said they saw the potential of the rooftop area when the gym first opened six years ago. "It's such a novelty, it draws people to us," he said. "If you're in an office all day, you want to get out and get some fresh air."

Now, the space is used for various activities, including spin and boxing classes, yoga, pilates, and health and wellbeing sessions. "We're the first rooftop gym in the north and south of Ireland, which is pretty cool," Curtis said. "It went from an empty, flat roof with nothing on it but satellite dishes to a fully functional fitness facility." Johnny said the roof is the finishing touch for the gym. "Before, you were always looking at this desolate flat roof. Now I feel like the gym is complete, and I'm really proud of it."

Belfast Chamber of Commerce chief executive Claire Guinness said this is not just a challenge for Belfast, but for towns and cities across the region and the UK. "Given the lack of demand for office accommodation, we need to rethink and repurpose those buildings, maybe creating residential that we know there's a demand and an imbalance in supply for." She added that the "Empty to Active" scheme is positive and a "welcome initiative," but it is "a very small scheme compared to the scale of the challenge here." She believes the council needs to do more and tackle the issue at a more strategic level, with wider support needed from government departments and the executive to address these issues facing the city.

According to the Department of Finance, as of October 31, 2024, 1,914 of 5,576 non-domestic properties in the Belfast city center area were vacant. Across the wider Belfast City Council area, 3,612 of 17,142 non-domestic properties were vacant as of December 31, 2024. Allor said the city center could benefit if some of the empty office units were converted into apartments. "We have a steady flow of customers around us with all the student accommodation and office workers," he said. "But at the weekend, you realize there's nobody living in the city center. If that changed, everything in the city center would feel the positive effects."

The "Empty to Active" scheme has been running in the city center since July 2022, and has received £500,000 in funding to promote the scheme in vacant properties in Belfast outside the city center. The first city-wide applications were approved this month and are scheduled for approval at the full council meeting in February. To date, 40 city center applications have been approved, and 13 businesses have opened. The scheme offers three levels of capital grant: up to £2,500, up to £15,000, and up to £25,000. If a grant application is successful, applicants must provide at least 10% match funding. Councillor Sam Nelson, chair of Belfast City Council's City Growth and Regeneration Committee, said the scheme "not only encourages more footfall and spending, but also makes our streets more attractive and provides a more diverse offering for shoppers, office workers, students and tourists."