OBEL TOWER (DONEGALL QUAY)
 
Country: UK, Northern Ireland
Location: Belfast
Purpose:  residential space
Main Contractor:  Blackbourne M&E
Architect:  Broadway Malyan Limited
Our contribution: Performing static, fabrication and site project curtain walls.
Complete: 2018

Obel Tower is a high-rise building  located in Belfast at Donegall Quay on the Lagan River embankment. At 88,31 meters high, the tower is the tallest storeyed building on the island of Ireland, emphatically dominating the Belfast skyline. Before the construction of Obel Tower the tallest building of both Ireland and Northern Ireland was another building located in Belfast the Windsor House (80 m).
Obel Tower has been developed by Karl Group at a cost of £ 60 million. Inside of the high-rise there are 233 apartments. First 182 apartments were available for rent even before the start of construction, in March of 2005, priced between £ 100,000 and £ 475,000, all of the apartments were booked in the first 48 hours.

CONSTRUCTION
Construction work on the first stage of the project, on the foundations and a two-story underground car park, began in January 2006. In mid-2007, construction works were stopped due to the crisis on the real estate market. On June 17, 2008, however, construction was resumed, modifying the original design with two additional storeys. The permit allowing for the addition of the two floors at the top of the building allowing it to meet the demand for high-rise living space was issued in January 2008. The expected completion date was originally scheduled for summer 2010. However, due to the construction moratorium, the building constrution was not finished until spring 2011. Additional floors raised the total height from 80.5 meters to a target height of 88 meters.
In April 2011 it was announced, that the London based law firm Allen & Overy is going to rent the entire available office space of Obel Tower. In October 2011 the local catering company Mount Charles opened its branded restaurant ‘Fed and Watered’ in one of the Obel Tower’s commercial premises on the ground floor. At first building was administrated by three different companies: Obel Ltd. Obel Offices Ltd. And Donegall Quay Ltd. In early 2014 the Obel Tower has been purchased by the New York based company Marathon Asset Management for the price of over £ 20 million. The new owner carried out the renovation of the Obel Tower in 2016 at the cost of £ 2 million. Renovation works included the renovation of public areas and installation of solar batteries.