# North Street Arcade

Northern Ireland, United Kingdom · other · tier: draft · Retrofit Atlas record `m-8df5459dfe` · release 2026-10-22

Canonical: https://retrofitatlas.org/other/united-kingdom/northern-ireland-north-street-arcade/  
JSON: https://retrofitatlas.org/data/records/m-8df5459dfe.json · Provenance: https://retrofitatlas.org/data/records/m-8df5459dfe.provenance.json · API: https://retrofitatlas.org/api/v1/sites/m-8df5459dfe

## Facts

| Field | Value | Provenance |
|---|---|---|
| Status | demolished | documented · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Strategy | redevelop, regreen | documented · model extraction, unreviewed |
| New use | mixed | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |
| What is there now | derelict | documented · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Opened | 1938 | documented · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Retrofit year | 2023 | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Original developer | Cowser & Smyth | documented · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Redeveloper | null | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Zoning change | null | documented · model extraction, unreviewed |
| Entitlement year | 2005 | reported · model extraction, unreviewed |

## Quoted support

- **year_opened**: “Construction was carried out by F. B. McKee & Co. between 1936 and 1938.” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Street_Arcade
- **original_developer**: “Cowser & Smyth” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Street_Arcade
- **after_notes**: “The fire destroyed the floor and glass roof, but as of 2023 the basic structure of the units remained intact.” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Street_Arcade
- **status**: “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.” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Street_Arcade
- **strategy**: “The subsequent development proposals... met with strong opposition from local artists and heritage organisations...” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Street_Arcade
- **zoning_change**: “The subsequent development proposals... met with strong opposition from local artists and heritage organisations...” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Street_Arcade
- **contractor**: “Construction was carried out by F. B. McKee & Co. between 1936 and 1938.” — extraction-deep:nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

## Parties

- William Ewart Properties — owner (from text) (2004–2005)
- Castlebrooke Investments — owner (from text) (2005–2017)

## 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

## Deals and debt

- 2017 sale:  Save the Cathedral Quarter ← null lender null https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Street_Arcade
- 2005 sale:  Drivers Jonas and Benoy ← Northern Ireland Department for Social Development (DSD) lender null https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Street_Arcade
- 2003 sale:  William Ewart Properties ← null lender null https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Street_Arcade

## Background (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened)

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.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Street_Arcade

## Sources

- Quoted support for year_opened — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Street_Arcade

## Cite

Retrofit Atlas (2026). "North Street Arcade, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom." Record m-8df5459dfe, release 2026-10-22, tier draft. https://retrofitatlas.org/other/united-kingdom/northern-ireland-north-street-arcade/ (accessed 2026-10-22).

```bibtex
@misc{retrofitatlas_northernirelandnorthstreetarcade,
  title = {North Street Arcade, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom},
  author = {{Retrofit Atlas}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://retrofitatlas.org/other/united-kingdom/northern-ireland-north-street-arcade/}},
  year = {2026},
  note = {Record m-8df5459dfe, release 2026-10-22, tier: draft. Built on the Retrofitting Suburbia map (Dunham-Jones and Williamson) and the sources listed on the record. Accessed 2026-10-22}
}
```

Licence: research use only; terms undecided with the authors (https://retrofitatlas.org/licence/). Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0. Tiers: curated = from the authors' public map, not reviewed by them; draft = imported or model-extracted, unreviewed.