NAMA has announced it will spend 15 million completing the two buildings close to the Waterfront Hall, creating accommodation for up to 2,000 office workers when complete.
While welcoming the news, Councillor Andrew Webb added that the lack of high spec office space in Belfast remained an issue and one he would be raising further in coming months.
He said: “It has been a great shame to witness the stalled development of these buildings in the waterfront hall area in recent years. These two office blocks have been boarded up for some time and had become something of a symbol of our property woes.
“The news that they are to be finished is most welcome. Not only will their completion create employment opportunities during the fit out phase, but once finished they will be able to accommodate close to 2,000 office workers.
“It may come as a surprise to some, but Belfast actually suffers from a shortage of high specification ‘Grade A’ office space – a situation that can quickly undermine the hard work that goes into attracting new businesses to Belfast. If there is nowhere to house new investors, they will quickly move on to our competitor cities.
“While this development is welcome, it does not solve the lack of high spec office space issue. I will be exploring the options to address this issue with Invest NI and the City Council.”