Other · United Kingdom
North Street Arcade
North Street Arcade, a 1938 Deco market arcade, burned 2004, stood derelict, was demolished 2023 after redevelopment plans in Belfast. · summary, model-written
More
Solid = from the authors' map · outlined = public source · dashed = model-written, not yet reviewed by a person. Tap any value's source label to see where it came from. documented = a quoted excerpt (click to read it) · reported = a source named, no excerpt yet · no source.
Site profile3 elements · what this site is built with · tap a chip for the evidence
Redeveloped
This site: …derelict extraction · all sites with thisRegreened
This site: …derelict extraction · all sites with thisMixed use
This site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with thisNow
| Status | Demolishedextracted, unreviewed documentedThe building was first valued by the government on the Second General Revaluation... by the end of which, with at least 20 occupied shop units... the total value of the property came to £5,321 10s. |
|---|---|
| Strategy | Redeveloped · Regreenedextracted, unreviewed documentedThe subsequent development proposals... met with strong opposition from local artists and heritage organisations... |
| New uses | mixedextracted, unreviewed reported |
| What is there now | derelictextracted, unreviewed documentedThe fire destroyed the floor and glass roof, but as of 2023 the basic structure of the units remained intact. |
| Retrofit year | 2023extracted, unreviewed reported |
| Developer | nullextracted, unreviewed |
Links out
Every link is built from an id this record holds (parcel number, filer CIK, Wikidata item, Census tract, coordinates) or from the name and city typed into a search. Nothing here is a guessed address. Search links are marked search in their source note; commercial listing links are marked for search engines not to follow. Hover a link for why it is here.
Reference (4)
encyclopedic and research references
- Wikipedia articlefrom en.wikipedia.org
- Wikidata item Q54870170from wikidata.org
- Wikimedia Commons photos within 500 mfrom commons.wikimedia.org
- Retrofitting Suburbia (book site)from retrofittingsuburbia.com
Place (8)
map and street views by coordinates
- Google Mapsfrom google.com
- Street Viewfrom google.com
- Bing Mapsfrom bing.com
- Apple Mapsfrom maps.apple.com
- OpenStreetMapfrom openstreetmap.org
- Walk Score at this pointfrom walkscore.com
- Transitland mapfrom transit.land
- USGS National Mapfrom apps.nationalmap.gov
News (2)
news searches and archived pages
- Google News: “North Street Arcade” (search)from name search
- Bing News: “North Street Arcade” (search)from name search
History and original facts
| Opened | 1938extracted, unreviewed |
|---|---|
| Original developer | Cowser & Smythextracted, unreviewed |
| Architect | Cowser & Smyth |
| Notes | Wikipedia categories: Defunct shopping centres in the United Kingdom |
Not yet recorded: acres, GLA. Know it? Tell us.
Planning
| Zoning change | nullextracted, unreviewed reported |
|---|---|
| Entitlement year | 2005extracted, unreviewed reported |
Deals and debt
| Date | Event | Price | Parties | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Sold | — | Save the Cathedral Quarter ← null · lender null | Wikipedia |
| 2005 | Sold | — | Drivers Jonas and Benoy ← Northern Ireland Department for Social Development (DSD) · lender null | Wikipedia |
| 2003 | Sold | — | William Ewart Properties ← null · lender null | Wikipedia |
Before and after
Before: the mall
Nothing extracted yet.
After: the retrofit
| Contractor | F. B. McKee & Co.quote |
|---|
Hover "quote" to see the sentence each value came from. Planned figures are labelled planned. Method.
Site context
| Transit within 800 m | no rail station; 19 bus stops within 400 mOpenStreetMap |
|---|---|
| Motorway junctions within 2 km | Clifton Street, Divis Street, Duncrue Street, Grosvenor RoadOpenStreetMap |
| Other atlas sites nearby | 1 within 10 km, 1 within 25 km: Connswater Shopping Centre (2.7 km)computed |
| Overture Maps | no place match; building footprint 1,921 m²Overture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0) |
| Attention: Wikipedia page views | 15,759 since 2015; 1,637 in the last 12 months (-5% vs the prior 12); peak 2019-12 with 889Wikimedia |
Summary, model-written
Opened in 1938 as a market arcade, the North Street Arcade operated until a 2004 fire destroyed its interior, leaving the building derelict. A 2005 masterplan proposed redevelop and regreen strategies, but the structure was ultimately demolished in 2023.
Why. The primary cause visible in the record is the 2004 fire that destroyed the interior and led to dereliction; no other causes such as anchor loss or competition are stated.
Where it stands. As of 2023 the site is demolished; ownership passed to Save the Cathedral Quarter after the 2017 sale, per the record.
For a planner
- Grade B1 listed status indicates historic preservation considerations.
- A 2005 masterplan and entitlement year show prior planning approval for redevelopment.
- Open questions include the future use of the cleared site and how to mitigate loss of the historic arcade within the Cathedral Quarter.
For a developer
- Site size is not provided in the record.
- Control last rested with Save the Cathedral Quarter after the 2017 sale; developer field is null.
- Entitlement appears to have been granted in 2005, but current zoning and entitlement status are unknown.
- Context‑layer constraints (flood, transit, environment) and market signals from tract data are not recorded.
What we do not know yet
- Exact demolition scope (partial or total) is not detailed.
- Post‑2023 ownership or stewardship of the cleared lot is unknown.
- Site‑specific data such as parcel size, flood risk, transit access, and environmental conditions are missing.
- Market demand or tract‑level economic indicators for the area are not included in the record.
- The reliability of extracted fields marked as ‘extraction’ is unverified.
Generated by nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b on NVIDIA API via Hermes CT from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.
Similar sites
- Echelon Airfield, Voorhees Township, NJ · Other · opened 1944; same strategy: redevelop
- Huskerville, Lincoln, NE · Other · opened 1942; same strategy: redevelop
- Town & Country Market, Los Angeles, CA · Other · opened 1942; same strategy: redevelop
- Camarillo State Mental Hospital, Camarillo, CA · Other · opened 1936; same strategy: redevelop
Elsewhere on the web
Pages with photos
- Art Deco North Street Arcade b… rsua.org.uk
- North Street Arcade | Property & Planning Information niplanner.com
- After the Fire: North Street Arcade ten years on : r/northernireland reddit.com
- The North Street Arcade, Belfast © Albert Bridge cc-by … geograph.org.uk
- North Street Arcade, Belfast youtube.com
Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar
Background
The North Street Arcade is a 1930s Art Deco shopping arcade in the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is the only example of a shopping arcade from this decade in Northern Ireland, and is one of only a handful left in the whole of Ireland or the UK. A Grade B1 listed building, it has been derelict since a fire in 2004.
Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.
Timeline
- 1936 Demolition of warehouse to make way for arcade
- 1938 Construction completed
- 2004 Fire destroyed interior
- 2005 Masterplan published
- 2017 Formation of Save the Cathedral Quarter
Sources
- Wikipedia: North Street Arcade · supports: after notes, original developer, status, strategy, year opened, zoning change
11 quoted sentences
Construction was carried out by F. B. McKee & Co. between 1936 and 1938.
Cowser & Smyth
The fire destroyed the floor and glass roof, but as of 2023 the basic structure of the units remained intact.
The building was first valued by the government on the Second General Revaluation... by the end of which, with at least 20 occupied shop units... the total value of the property came to £5,321 10s.
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