Smithfield Yard: A 167,404sq.ft mixed use campus development in the heart of the historic Smithfield area of Belfast. Three buildings connected by one yard. A distinctive city centre block that will appeal to today’s workforce and where people will want to gather. SY is confident in its identity and sure about its future
View the BuildingsThe Vision
We have secured planning approval for our scheme. With The Yard at its heart, North, Sawtooth and Gresham are individual office buildings each with a different character and serving a flexible occupier profile.
We are building a community, cultivating start-ups and small local traders, feeding established SMEs and supporting local business alongside larger corporates.
The offer harnesses the energy of the unique, the artisans, the independents and the enterprising, to create a location that is distinctive where people want to work, a place people want to visit.
At Smithfield Yard we are injecting new life, creating a location that is distinctive, where people are excited and proud to work.
Placemaking
What's unique about Smithfield?
The urban environment, its authentic spirit, Smithfield indoor market, the unique tenant mix, the proximity to centres of academic excellence and its respect for heritage.
Smithfield is a defiant place, it is what it is - gritty.
Through extensive and meaningful consultation under the working title Building Blocks, we brought people together to help re-imagine the future of their city and to share with us their ambitions for Smithfield.
Entrepreneurs, small business owners, artists, makers, social enterprise and charity leaders became our critical friends, testing ideas on the tenant mix for the area.
We have encouraged creative use of our old buildings, a new kind of ownership of this gritty, exciting place: Belfast Design Week transformed the Butcher’s Building into a design lab, and the internationally acclaimed Belfast Photo Festival used the terraces as a canvas during their award-winning festival.
The Terraces
+ The Yard
We’ve kept the urban essence of the area by re-imagining the use of the existing Victorian terraces which have been home in the past to seamstresses, locksmiths, performers, publicans, haberdashers, butchers and a much loved pet shop.
With its daily market, Smithfield has always been a place to gather. By injecting life back into The Terraces through a dynamic tenant mix and by ensuring The Yard is home to excellent independent eateries and coffee shops, we are celebrating the area’s tradition of bringing people together.
We have harnessed the inner city energy and acknowledged its heritage with our bold designs, creating a dynamic and engaging future workplace.
Location
Belfast is a compact, energetic city surpassing the expectations of a typical regional capital. It has emerged from a challenging past as one of the best UK cities to live and work in.*
The Smithfield Yard development is located in the old heart of the city. It is an area of the city undergoing an exciting period of transition with a number of developments underway, including the new Ulster University campus and is home to a growing population of students (15k), creatives, independents and entrepreneurs and creative office developments.
*Glassdoor Top 25 Cities In The UK To Work In March 2020
Campus Development - "a new vision for learning"
- Landmark development – 75,000 m²
- Home to 15,000 students
- "Open to Innovation" – Opportunities for University and private sector collaboration and a great resource for expertise.
Smithfield is just a few minute’s walk from the iconic City Hall and the main shopping areas of Victoria Square and Donegall Place offering high street and high-end goods.
It is a stone’s throw from the vibrant arts, food and drink culture of the Cathedral Quarter (historically home to the old iron foundry, the pottery, the whiskey merchants and the Brown Linen Hall).
A multitude of award-winning eateries have helped establish the area’s foodie status. The city offers high-end dining experiences at The Merchant, Muddler’s Club and Ox (all recipients of Michelin Stars), alongside the delicious cuisine of Hadskis in Commercial Court and a vibrant dining experience at Buba and Coppi in St Anne’s Square.
- SYSmithfield Yard
- 1St. Anne's Cathedral
- 2Ulster University
- 3The MAC
- 4Central Library
- 5City Hall
- Cathedral Quarter
Arts & Entertainment
The Metropolitan Arts Centre (MAC) in the nearby St Anne’s Square welcomes work from international and local artists in its numerous galleries, complemented by a year-round programme of theatre. The nearby Black Box is a celebrated venue for unique fringe arts events and the very best in local creative talent. Its programme includes: music, spoken word, theatre and comedy.
Pubs
Smithfield is on the doorstep of some of Belfast’s most celebrated and popular public houses: The Spaniard, The Dirty Onion and The National.
Throughout the neigbourhood you’ll come across curious little finds like The Friend in Hand, a unique whiskey museum with the biggest collection of Irish Whiskeys anywhere and the independent Sunflower bar with its caged entrance, a quirky nod to the city’s recent past.
The Dark Horse is a unique Belfast pub serving coffee and the finest tea. It is located in Commercial Court, opposite one of the most popular drinking houses in the city – The Duke of York. Across the courtyard is an outdoor gallery of custom street art depicting scenes of Northern Irish history and culture.
