# List of tallest buildings and structures in Belfast

This list of the tallest buildings and structures in Belfast ranks buildings and structures in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by height. There are at least 10 structures in the city taller than 80 metres (260 ft) and there are at least 36 habitable buildings in the city taller than 45 metres (148 ft).

## Tallest by category

* The tallest building in Belfast is the Obel Tower at 86 metres (282 feet). It is the tallest building in Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland.
* The tallest structure in Belfast is the Black Mountain transmission station, servicing TV and Radio, at 228.6 m (750 ft 0 in).
* The tallest free standing and occupied structure is the Harland and Wolf shipbuilding gantry crane Samson at 106 m (348 ft).
* The tallest chimney is the Belfast City Hospital chimney at 95 m (312 ft).
* The tallest church is Belfast (St. Anne's) Cathedral at 80 m (260 ft).
* The tallest clock is the Albert Memorial Clock at 34.4 m (112 ft 10 in).

## Belfast's tallest structures

These lists rank the 8 tallest structures in Belfast by total height.
Belfast Tallest Structures :
| Rank | Name | Use | Height (m) | Height (ft) | Floors above ground | Year of completion | Notes |
| 1 | Black Mountain transmitting station | TV mast | 228.6 | 750 | N/A | 1959 | |
| =2 | Divis transmitting station | TV mast | 166 | 545 | N/A | 2011 | |
| 4 | "Samson" | Shipbuilding Gantry Crane | 106 | 348 | N/A | 1974 | |
| 5 | Belfast Ship repair Quay crane | Ship repair Crane | 104 | 341 | N/A | unknown | |
| 6 | "Goliath" | Shipbuilding Gantry Crane | 96 | 316 | N/A | 1969 | |
| 7 | Belfast City Hospital Chimney | Chimney | 95 | 312 | N/A | 1986 | |
| 8 | Grand Central Hotel | Hotel | 93 (Structure height (with 1 plant floor, top of elevator shaft and radio mast now included)) | 305 (Structure) | 23 | 1975 | [6] [7] [8] |
| 9 | Obel | Residential | 86 | 281 | 28 | 2010 | |
| 10 | St Anne's Cathedral (Church of Ireland) | Church | 80 | 262 | N/A | 2007 | |

## Belfast's tallest habitable buildings

This list is the tallest habitable buildings in Belfast by architectural height.
Belfast tallest Buildings :
| Rank | Name | Use | Height (m) | Height (ft) | Floors (above ground) | Year of completion | Notes |
| 1 | Obel | Residential | 86 | 282 | 28 | 2010 | |
| 2 | Grand Central Hotel | Hotel | 80 (Architectural height) | 262 (Building) | 23 | 1975 | [6] [7] [8] |
| 3 | Belfast City Hospital Tower | Hospital | 76 | 249 | 15 | 1986 | |
| 4 | City Quays 3 | Office | 74 | 74 metres (243 ft) | 16 | 2021 (topped out) | |
| 5 | The Ewart | Office | 73 | 240 | 17 | 2021 (topped out) | (Nicknamed "R2D2" for the Star Wars droid) |
| 6 | Belfast International Hilton Hotel | Hotel | 63 | 207 | 16 | 1998 | |
| 7 | BT Riverside Tower | Office | 62 | 203 | 14 | 1998 | |
| 8 | Divis Tower | Residential | 61 | 200 | 20 | 1966 | |
| 9= | The Boat | Office/Residential | 57 | 187 | 15 | 2010 | |
| 9= | Royal Victoria Hospital Critical Care Building | Hospital | 57 | 187 | 12 | 2012 | |
| 11= | Linum Chambers Bedford Square | Office | 55 | 180 | 13 | 2005 | |
| 11= | Causeway Tower | Office | 55 | 180 | 13 | 2004 | |
| 11= | Great Northern Tower | Office | 55 | 180 | 13 | 1992 | |
| 14 | Ulster University Belfast Campus | University | 52 | 171 | 13 | 2021 | |
| 15 | Grainne House | Residential | 52 | 171 | 17 | 1968 | |
| 16 | Europa Hotel | Hotel | 51 | 167 | 13 | 1971 | |
| 17= | Bruce Street Student accommodation | Student accommodation | 51 | 167 | 15 | 2023 | |
| 17= | Lanyon Plaza | Office | 50 | 164 | 12 | 2014 | |
| 19= | Bedford House | Office | 49 | 161 | 12 | 1966 | |
| 19= | River House | Office | 49 | 161 | 14 | 1970 Building reclad in 2018. | |
| 19= | Ferndale House Parkdale House Riverdale House | Residential | 49 | 161 | 15 | 1965 | |
| 19= | Coolemoyne House Rathmoyne House | Residential | 49 | 161 | 15 | 1962 | |
| 26 | Queen's University Medical Biology Centre (MBC) | University | 48 | 158 | 12 | 1969 | |
| 27 | Swanston House 41-49 Queen street | Residential (student) | 47 | 155 | 14 | 2016 | |
| 28= | 14 Great Victoria Street | Office | 46 | 151 | 11 | 2003 | |
| 28= | Fanum House | Office | 46 | 151 | 13 | 1965 | |
| 28= | Dundonald house | Office | 46 | 151 | 12 | early 1960s | |
| 28= | Ashby Building | University | 46 | 151 | 11 | 1965 | |
| 28= | 101 York Street | Residential (student) | 46 | 151 | 14 | 2021 (topped out) | |
| 33= | Kilbroney House | Residential | 45 | 148 | 15 | 1967 | |
| 33= | Carnet House | Residential | 45 | 148 | 15 | 1966 | |
| 33= | Bradbury court | Residential | 45 | 148 | 15 | Early 1960s | |
| 33= | FX, 14-18 Montgomery street | Residential | 45 | 148 | 15 | 2019 | |
| 33= | Maldron hotel | Hotel | 45 | 148 | 15 | 2018 | |
| 33= | Elms BT2, McClintock Street | Residential (student) | 45 | 148 | 16 | 2018 | |
* ↑ Note: This building height is incorrectly listed as 62m in both planning applications and in Emporis, but that is the height of the lower roof/arm of building (easy mistake from side elevation) but ignores the last 3 floors, to the upper roof (not a plant), real height is seen in plan documents already cited.
* ↑ Recent applications, including the corporation street apartments and queens quay masterplan (see below with citations) have height as 57m not 62m assuming similar error with critical care building, by taking height above sea level as full height (cited in table).
* ↑ New children's hospital application reveals original height was only above sea level not base to roof so 63m is height above sea level
* ↑ Height above sea level once again being quoted as height (56m) but base to top it is 52m

## Tallest non-habitable buildings

List of tallest non Habitable buildings over 45m tall in Belfast. Non-Habitable building refers to a building where most of the height is taken up by an architectural feature which is not habitable such as a spire, or storage space.
| Rank | Name | Use | Height (m) | Height (ft) | Year of Construction | Notes |
| 1 | St Anne's Cathedral | Anglican Cathedral (Church of Ireland) | 80 | 262 | 2007 | |
| 2 | St Patrick's Church, Belfast | Roman Catholic chapel | 55 | 180 | 1877 | |
| 3 | West Twin Silos | Warehouse | 54 | 177 | 1963 | |
| 4 | Belfast City Hall | Government Building | 53 | 174 | 1906 | |
| 5 | Carlisle Memorial Church | Former Methodist Church now a venue | 52 | 171 | 1875 | [56] [57] |
| 6 | St Peter's Cathedral, Belfast | Roman Catholic Cathedral | 50 | 164 | 1866 | |

## Tallest demolished

Tallest buildings and structures in Belfast over 45m to have been demolished.
| Name | Use | Height (m) | Floors | Notes |
| Divis Transmitting station (old) | TV Masts | Mast A =140.7 and Mast B=139.5 | N/A | Built in 1957 Replaced in 2011 |
| Power station West 3 Chimneys | Power station Chimneys | 80 | N/A | Was opened in 1962, and closed in 2002 as move towards green energy began. Chimneys were demolished in 2007. |
| Churchill House | Office | 66 (not including mast) | 18 | When built in 1966 it was Belfast's tallest building. Was occupied by Northern Ireland civil servants. Demolished in 2004. Now Victoria Square Shopping centre is where it once stood. |
| Greeves' (Cupar street) mill chimney | Chimney | 66 | N/A | When built it was the tallest chimney in Ireland and was until at least 1923. It had to be felled for safety reasons as it quickly deteriorated. |
| Belfast Wheel | Observation wheel | 60 | N/A | Was opened 2007 and closed 2010, due to blocking listed Belfast City hall and titanic memorial. Talks of moving it to the Titanic quarter led to nothing. |

## Potential tall buildings in belfast

Section covers buildings and structures under construction, had planning permission approved and have been proposed for Belfast. Exact heights stated in this section are taken directly from building plans found at and most recent approvals are announced online, where older ones are found in the previous reference.

### Under construction

This lists buildings that are currently under construction.
| Name | Image | Use | Height (m) | Floors | Notes |
| Royal Victoria children's Hospital | *Add when crane erected any cgi image will likely be removed due to copyright | Hospital | 61 (65 structure) | 12 | Demolition of Bostock House (site location) underway. |
| Bankmore square | | Office and Student Accommodation | 58 and 56 | 14 and 17 | Under construction Approved 16/04/24 Construction due Sept 24 with completion in 2026 for office and 2027 for student accommodation. Redesign of previously approved proposal with smaller footprint and similar height. Area now temporary trade market and events space. Two new Pans Full application for office Full application for student accom |
| Loftlines | add pic when crane up | btr and social housing | 57 max also 45 | 18 max also 14 | construction started 26/06/2023 link to planning app Planning ref:LA04/2021/2280/F |

### Approved

This lists buildings that have been given planning permission to be constructed in Belfast.
| Name | Use | Height (m) | Floors | Notes |
| City Quay 4 | Residential | 76.4 (79.4m plant if measured same way as capital dock this would be official height) | 23 | Belfast Harbour proposal in 2019 PAN submitted September 2022 Planning ref:LA04/2022/1752/PAN Full application submitted LA04/2023/2388/F with confirmed planned height in documents recommended for approval in Dec 2023 planning meeting, height slightly increased and full planned height confirmed. Approved in Jan 16 2024 planning meeting |
| Royal Victoria Hospital energy centre | Power station | 70 (Flue chimney stack) | N/A | Granted planning permission in Belfast City council's 14/12/21 planning meeting This will not be a 'habitable building' but a prominent structure. Planning ref: LA04/2021/1492/F. |
| 21-29 Corporation street | Mixed use | 63 | 19 | Proposed in 2018, pre planning accepted, renders of design produced by developer Macleer and Rushe in 2020. Formal planning application imminent. Note site has previous applications up to 20 stories accepted planning permission including offices and 250 bedroom hotel but nothing has come of it yet with site still derelict. Full Planning application submitted August 2021 Planning ref LA04/2021/2016/F. was approved in Jan 16th 2024 planning meeting |
| Sirroco waterside quays office | Office | 58.3 | 13 | Approved 2020 Planning ref: LA04/2018/0448/F. |
| The Residence | Residential | 57.5 | 19 | Approved in November 2020 planning meeting. Site has been put up for sale in 2021. Planning ref:LA04/2019/2387/F. |
| Lanyon View Dalton street | Residential | 56.7 | 17 | Approved 2019 and again in 2021 after dispute. Planning ref: LA04/2018/2649/F. |
| Belfast Harbour 480 mW gas power station | Power station | 54.2 | N/A | Approved 2019 Not a 'habitable building' but a prominent structure. Planning ref: LA04/2017/0878/F. |
| River Walk | Residential | 54 | 17 | Approved 2020 Planning ref: 2019/0517/F. |
| 81-87 Academy street | Residential | 54 | 16 | Approved 2019 Land bought by Tribeca Developers 2021 Reapproved 24/11/2021. Planning ref: LA04/2019/2257/F. |
| City Quays 5 | Mixed Use | 48.5 | 10 | full planning submitted Dec 20 2023 Approved 27/06/2024 |
| Bedford yard | Aparthotel | 45 | 13 | Approved 2020 and again in 2021 after dispute. Planning ref: LA04/2020/0659/F. |
| Dorchester House | apart hotel | 45 | 12 | reclad change of use and two storey extension of existing office building. Approved 18/06/2024 |

### Proposed

This lists buildings that have only been proposed to be built in Belfast.
| Name | Use | Height (m) | Floors | Notes |
| pilot street | Residential | unknown (was 97.5m) | 19 was 30 | Pre-planning accepted 2019, full planning application yet to come. ref:LA04/2019/0680/PAN |
| Titanic Quarter Master plan Abercorn tower, Plater's Yard and plot19 arc2 | Mixed use | 94 (100.5 total height) 73, 66.5 and 51.5 | 30, 21, unknown and 16 | Outline planning permission from Titanicquarter masterplan, now expired but still intention to renew. heights taken from Loftline's design and access statement. |
| Queen' Quay Masterplan | Mixed use | over 85 , approx 60 and approx 60 | 20 plus, approx 15 and 15 | Details found in reference which is the ongoing consultation by the department of the communities, funded by regional city deal (high chance of happening). Masterplan has three towers of significant height, the first is shown to be slightly taller than the Obel Tower and mirrors the proposed tower across the M3 at the Odyssey quay, with apartments starting at the twentieth floor above a hotel and retail ground floor unit. Two other 60m apartment towers with retail units are also planned. Planning ref LA04/2021/2579/PAN |
| Odyssey quays landmark tower and gateway office | Residential and office | 84.8+ and 55+ | 28 and 15 | Part of Odyssey Quays master plan proposed 2019, aviation report in 2020 cites tower as over 36m above 48.7m height limit Planning ref LA04/2019/2882/O |
| Weaver's Cross | Mixed use | 78 and 52.4 and 52.4 | 18 and 15 and 15 | Translink proposing a development, Weavers Cross, around the under construction transport hub. Proposed in 2017 with initial proposal of application notice The development was pitched to developers at the end of November 2020. This tower was pitched to hide the back of the Europa Hotel. New proposal of application notice in 2021, tower remains but no reference to exact floor height as before. In consultation for new plan tower height revealed to be 78m Full outline planning submitted In this reveal of floor number and that city planners want tower to be taller. Additional 50+m residential buildings included in master plan. Planning ref LA04/2021/2856/O Outline planning recommended for approval in 31/08/2022 planning meeting (this can be found in planning committee meeting agenda in Belfast City Council's website however will not link properly for citation). |
| 39 Corporation Street | Student accommodation | 67 | 20 | proposed in 2024 and full planning documents uploaded in 2025 |
| 102-127 Grosvenor Road | student accom | former app 62m | n/a | |
| The Grattan | Mixed use but mainly residential, with commercial ground floor | 57.25 | 18 | Will replace the derelict Fanum House ( which features in the list of tallest buildings). Community consultation process finished in February 2021 with a formal planning application to follow. Old Planning ref:LA04/2020/2548/PAN PAN in to change use to student accom new ref LA04/2023/4377/PAN Full application submitted with confirmed height of 53.95m Height confirmed in Todd architect x post |
| Tribeca Master plan | Mixed use | 60 and 46.5 | 15 and 10 | Outline planning permission as part of Tribeca master plan planning ref LA04/2018/0811/O |
| Tobacco Works | Mixed use | approx 60 | 17 | In planning development by Todd architects and Wirefox |
| Bruce Street Carpark | Mixed Use | approx 60 and 49 | 14, 11 and unknown residential | In planning Development by Todd Architects and Heron Bros |
| Holmes Street | Residential | 50 | 15 | Outline planning application Dec 2021 Outline planning approved Aug 2022 Planning ref LA04/2022/0023/O |
| 35-41 queens square | Residential | 46 | 15 | Pre planning application submitted with digital community consultation beginning 29 March. A 16 story tower was previously approved in same location. 25 August 2021 full planning submitted. July 2022 new design uploaded to same application with height reduced from 47 to 46m. Planning ref LA04/2021/1985/F |

## List of unbuilt buildings

Table of tallest proposed buildings that never came to fruition, either due to planning permission or financial issues.
| Name | Height (m) | Floors | Notes |
| Aurora building | 109 | 37 | Site currently a petrol station, planning was refused mainly due to precarious financial state of developer and opposition to building height. |
| Bedford Square phase 2 (original application) | 104.5 | 26 | Gained planning approval in 2005 but plans were scaled down after property market crash in 2008. A 17 storey office is currently under construction on its proposed site. |
| Belfast Vetro Hotel | 100 | 26 | |
| 54 Pilot Street | 97.5 | 30 | Now 19 storey building proposed on same site |
| Sirocco Quay | 92 | 30 | Had outline planning permission but was changed into a 17 storey office development city quays 3 which is currently under construction |
| Queen's Quay block E1 | 92 | 30 | Land bought by another developer creating their own masterplan. |
| Royal Exchange Tower | 91 | 26 | Now Tribeca masterplan with shorter buildings to protect listed buildings from being dominated, |
| Odyssey quays tower | 88 | 29 | previous withdrawn proposal, there is currently a 28 storey tower proposed on the same site. |
| Murray Tobacco works | 84.5 | 28 | Majority of site was bought by Translink who are using it as part of a mixed use development around their transport hub called Weaver's Cross. There is preplanning discussions for a 17 floor residential tower in the remaining land. |
| Midland Building | 76 | 25 | site is now student accommodation |
| St George's Gate | 76 | 24 | Application withdrawn, still seen as a development opportunity site |
| Hope and History | 70 | 21 | Proposed in 2005, planning refused. |
| Brunswick Street tower | 70 | 17 | Planning was approved, land is being used for Mcclintock street student accommodation and Maldron hotel, there is still unused land on the site. |
| One Grosvenor Gate | 62 | 16 | new application for 800 student accom in. |
| Bridge end towers | 61 | 19 | Application withdrawn, site still vacant. |
| Titanic Quarter Financial campus | 60 | 12 | was approved, but now site has a new proposal of purpose managed student accommodation (height as yet unknown from consultation but it did give the height of the older proposal in the info pack ) |
| Bankmore Square | 57 | 12 | was approved, now being split into apartments and a slimmer office pans are in for both. |

## History of Belfast's tallest building

Table of the history of the tallest building in Belfast by Architectural height
| Name | Years tallest | Height (m) |
| St. Peter's Cathedral (Roman Catholic) | 1866-1875 | 50 |
| Carlisle Memorial Church (Methodist) | 1875-1877 | 52 |
| St Patrick's Church (Roman Catholic) | 1877-1966 | 55 |
| Churchill House | 1966-1975 | 66 |
| Windsor House (Grand Central Hotel) | 1st 1975-2007 Joint 1st 2007-2010 | 80 |
| Belfast (St. Anne's) Cathedral (Church of Ireland) | Joint 1st 2007-2010 | 80 |
| Obel Tower | 2010- | 86 |