List of tallest buildings and structures in Belfast facts for kids

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

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
Belfast's tallest structures
Belfast's tallest habitable buildings
Tallest non-habitable buildings
Tallest demolished
Potential tall buildings in belfast
List of unbuilt buildings
History of Belfast's tallest building
See also

Tallest by category

Albert Memorial Clock

The tallest building in Belfast is the Obel Tower at 86-metre (282 ft). 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 metres (750 ft).
The tallest free standing and occupied structure is the Harland and Wolf shipbuilding gantry crane Samson at 106 metres (348 ft).
The tallest chimney is the Belfast City Hospital chimney at 95 metres (312 ft).
The tallest church is Belfast (St. Anne's) Cathedral at 80 metres (262 ft).
The tallest clock is the Albert Memorial Clock at 34.4m (113 feet).

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
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
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	Image	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
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 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	Lanyon Plaza	Office		50	164	12	2014
18=	Bedford House	Office		49	161	12	1966
18=	River House	Office		49	161	14	1970 Building reclad in 2018.
18=	Ferndale House Parkdale House Riverdale House	Residential		49	161	15	1965
18=	Coolemoyne House Rathmoyne House	Residential		49	161	15	1962
25	Queen's University Medical Biology Centre (MBC)	University		48	158	12	1969
26	Swanston House 41-49 Queen street	Residential (student)		47	155	14	2016
27=	14 Great Victoria Street	Office		46	151	11	2003
27=	Fanum House	Office		46	151	13	1965
27=	Dundonald house	Office		46	151	12	early 1960s
27=	Ashby Building	University		46	151	11	1965
27=	101 York Street	Residential (student)		46	151	14	2021 (topped out)
32=	Kilbroney House	Residential		45	148	15	1967
32=	Carnet House	Residential		45	148	15	1966
32=	Bradbury court	Residential		45	148	15	Early 1960s
32=	FX, 14-18 Montgomery street	Residential		45	148	15	2019
32=	Maldron hotel	Hotel		45	148	15	2018
32=	Elms BT2, McClintock Street	Residential (student)		45	148	16	2018

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
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
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.
Bruce Street Student accommodation		Student Accommodation	51	15	Under construction, tower crane erected and core rising
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

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 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.
One Bankmore square design 2	Office and student accommodation	58 and 56	14 and 17	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
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.
Bedford yard	Aparthotel	45	13	Approved 2020 and again in 2021 after dispute. Planning ref: LA04/2020/0659/F.

Proposed

This lists buildings that have only been proposed to be built in Belfast.

Name	Use	Height (m)	Floors	Notes
Olympic Tower	Residential	97.5	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).
102-127 Grosvenor Road	student accom	former app 62m	n/a
The Grattan	Mixed use but mainly residential, with commercial ground floor	52.45	17	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 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
City Quays 5	Mixed Use	45.3	10	full planning submitted Dec 20 2023
Dorchester House	apart hotel	45	12	reclad change of use and two storey extension of existing office building.

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
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