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).

86m (282 ft) Obel Tower in Belfast is Ireland's tallest building.

Tallest by category

Albert Memorial Clock

• 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	Image	Height (m)	Height (ft)	Floors above ground	Year of completion	Notes
1	Black Mountain transmitting station	TV mast		228.6	750	N/A	1959	[1]
=2	Divis transmitting station	TV mast		166	545	N/A	2011	[2]
4	"Samson"	Shipbuilding Gantry Crane		106	348	N/A	1974	[3]
5	Belfast Ship repair Quay crane	Ship repair Crane		104	341	N/A	unknown	[4]
6	"Goliath"	Shipbuilding Gantry Crane		96	316	N/A	1969	[3]
7	Belfast City Hospital Chimney	Chimney		95	312	N/A	1986	[5]
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	[9]
10	St Anne's Cathedral (Church of Ireland)	Church		80	262	N/A	2007	[10]

Belfast's tallest habitable buildings

This list is the tallest habitable buildings in Belfast by architectural height.

Belfast tallest Buildings
Rank	Name	Use	Image	Height (m)	Height (ft)	Floors (above ground)	Year of completion	Notes
1	Obel	Residential		86	282	28	2010	[9]
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	[11]
4	City Quays 3	Office		74	74 metres (243 ft)	16	2021 (topped out)	[12][13][14]
5	The Ewart	Office		73[a]	240	17	2021 (topped out)	[15][16] (Nicknamed "R2D2" for the Star Wars droid)[citation needed]
6	Belfast International Hilton Hotel	Hotel		63	207	16	1998	[17]
7	BT Riverside Tower	Office		62	203	14	1998	[18]
8	Divis Tower	Residential		61	200	20	1966	[19]
9=	The Boat	Office/Residential		57	187	15	2010	[20][b]
9=	Royal Victoria Hospital Critical Care Building	Hospital		57	187	12	2012	[21][22][c]
11=	Linum Chambers Bedford Square	Office		55	180	13	2005	[23]
11=	Causeway Tower	Office		55	180	13	2004	[24]
11=	Great Northern Tower	Office		55	180	13	1992	[25]
14	Ulster University Belfast Campus	University		52[d]	171	13	2021	[26]
15	Grainne House	Residential		52	171	17	1968	[27]
16	Europa Hotel	Hotel		51	167	13	1971	[28]
17=	Bruce Street Student accommodation	Student accommodation		51	167	15	2023	[29]
17=	Lanyon Plaza	Office		50	164	12	2014	[30]
19=	Bedford House	Office		49	161	12	1966	[31]
19=	River House	Office		49	161	14	1970 Building reclad in 2018.	[32][33]
19=	Ferndale House Parkdale House Riverdale House	Residential		49	161	15	1965	[34][35][36]
19=	Coolemoyne House Rathmoyne House	Residential		49	161	15	1962	[37][38]
26	Queen's University Medical Biology Centre (MBC)	University		48	158	12	1969	[39]
27	Swanston House 41-49 Queen street	Residential (student)		47	155	14	2016	[40]
28=	14 Great Victoria Street	Office		46	151	11	2003	[41]
28=	Fanum House	Office		46	151	13	1965	[42]
28=	Dundonald house	Office		46	151	12	early 1960s	[43][44]
28=	Ashby Building	University		46	151	11	1965	[45]
28=	101 York Street	Residential (student)		46	151	14	2021 (topped out)	[46]
33=	Kilbroney House	Residential		45	148	15	1967	[47]
33=	Carnet House	Residential		45	148	15	1966	[48]
33=	Bradbury court	Residential		45	148	15	Early 1960s	[49]
33=	FX, 14-18 Montgomery street	Residential		45	148	15	2019	[50]
33=	Maldron hotel	Hotel		45	148	15	2018	[51]
33=	Elms BT2, McClintock Street	Residential (student)		45	148	16	2018	[52]

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. New children's hospital application reveals original height was only above sea level not base to roof so 63m is height above sea level
4. 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	Image	Height (m)	Height (ft)	Year of Construction	Notes
1	St Anne's Cathedral	Anglican Cathedral (Church of Ireland)		80	262	2007	[10]
2	St Patrick's Church, Belfast	Roman Catholic chapel		55	180	1877	[53]
3	West Twin Silos	Warehouse		54	177	1963	[54]
4	Belfast City Hall	Government Building		53	174	1906	[55]
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	[58]

Tallest demolished

Tallest buildings and structures in Belfast over 45m to have been demolished.

Name	Use	Image	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 [2]
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.[59]
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.[60]
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.[61]
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 ^[62] and most recent approvals are announced online,^[63] 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.[22]
Bankmore square		Office and Student Accommodation	58 and 56	14 and 17	Under construction Approved 16/04/24 [64] 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.[65] Area now temporary trade market and events space. Two new Pans [66] [67] Full application for office [68] Full application for student accom [69]
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 [70]

Belfast's current tallest building the Obel Tower under construction with the tallest flat tower crane ever erected in the city at 106m tall.

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 [71] PAN submitted September 2022 Planning ref:LA04/2022/1752/PAN [72] Full application submitted LA04/2023/2388/F with confirmed planned height in documents [73] recommended for approval in Dec 2023 planning meeting, height slightly increased and full planned height confirmed. [74] Approved in Jan 16 2024 planning meeting [75]
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 [76] 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 [77] Planning ref LA04/2021/2016/F. was approved in Jan 16th 2024 planning meeting [78]
Sirroco waterside quays office	Office	58.3	13	Approved 2020 [79] 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.[80] Planning ref:LA04/2019/2387/F.
Lanyon View Dalton street	Residential	56.7	17	Approved 2019 and again in 2021 after dispute.[81] Planning ref: LA04/2018/2649/F.
Belfast Harbour 480 mW gas power station	Power station	54.2	N/A	Approved 2019 [82] Not a 'habitable building' but a prominent structure. Planning ref: LA04/2017/0878/F.
River Walk	Residential	54	17	Approved 2020 [83] Planning ref: 2019/0517/F.
81-87 Academy street	Residential	54	16	Approved 2019 Land bought by Tribeca Developers 2021 [84] Reapproved 24/11/2021. Planning ref: LA04/2019/2257/F.
City Quays 5	Mixed Use	48.5	10	full planning submitted Dec 20 2023 [85] Approved 27/06/2024 [86]
Bedford yard	Aparthotel	45	13	Approved 2020 and again in 2021 after dispute.[87] Planning ref: LA04/2020/0659/F.
Dorchester House	apart hotel	45	12	reclad change of use and two storey extension of existing office building.[88] Approved 18/06/2024 [89]

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 [90]
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.[70] 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.[91] 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 [92] 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 [93] 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.[94] In consultation for new plan tower height revealed to be 78m [95] Full outline planning submitted [96] 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 [97]
102-127 Grosvenor Road	student accom	former app 62m	n/a	[98]
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.[99] Old Planning ref:LA04/2020/2548/PAN PAN in to change use to student accom[100] new ref LA04/2023/4377/PAN Full application submitted [101] with confirmed height of 53.95m Height confirmed in Todd architect x post [102]
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 [103]
Tobacco Works	Mixed use	approx 60	17	In planning development by Todd architects and Wirefox [104]
Bruce Street Carpark	Mixed Use	approx 60 and 49	14, 11 and unknown residential	[105] In planning Development by Todd Architects and Heron Bros
Holmes Street	Residential	50	15	Outline planning application Dec 2021 [106] Outline planning approved Aug 2022 [107] 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.[108] 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	[109][110] 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	[111] 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	[112][113]
54 Pilot Street	97.5	30	[114] Now 19 storey building proposed on same site
Sirocco Quay	92	30	[115] 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	[116] 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	[117] previous withdrawn proposal, there is currently a 28 storey tower proposed on the same site.
Murray Tobacco works	84.5	28	[118] 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	[119] site is now student accommodation
St George's Gate	76	24	[120] Application withdrawn, still seen as a development opportunity site
Hope and History	70	21	[121] Proposed in 2005, planning refused.
Brunswick Street tower	70	17	[122] 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	[123] new application for 800 student accom in.
Bridge end towers	61	19	[124] 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 [125] )
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)	Image
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

See also

• List of tallest structures in Ireland
• List of tallest buildings and structures in Dublin