Titanic offices near £5m restoration as luxury hotel
The Drawing Offices of the Harland and Wolff shipyard have nearly been fully transformed into a luxury hotel.
Last updated 5th Jul 2017
The Heritage Lottery Fund has provided almost £5m of cash to make the construction work possible.
It means the buildings, which were first constructed in in around 1880, will now become a cultrual attraction as well as a luxury hotel.
There are plans to run both short and long tours of the buildings themselves and the many artifacts donated, in conjunction with the neighbouring Titanic Belfast.
The hotel is set to open on 10 September.
Kerrie Sweeney, CEO Titanic Foundation Ltd said: “We are nearing completion on this exciting heritage project and it is fantastic to see the historic and the new come together.
"The regeneration of the Harland & Wolff Headquarters and the Drawing Offices has been fascinating to watch.
“The funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund has been vital in ensuring those small features that tell hugely historical stories are restored and give the local community and visitors from around the world a genuine piece of our shipbuilding history.
Paul Mullan, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund Northern Ireland, added: “It is thanks to National Lottery players and the £5m raised by them that this hugely important building has been restored and returned to sustainable use.
“The Heritage Enterprise programme has been specifically designed to support ambitious projects such as this where the costs of restoration would be so high that it would not be commercially viable.
"So it is wonderful to see the final elements coming together on what will undoubtedly be another world-class maritime and industrial heritage attraction for visitors to Belfast’s Titanic Quarter.
There will be six key heritage rooms including Lord Pirrie’s Office and the Presentation Room, which will be open to the public tours, displaying artefacts and details of the restoration works and history weaved into the décor.
There will also be function rooms and a bespoke restaurant for the guets.