Work starts on new Belfast healthcare hub

Work has started on the redevelopment of an iconic south Belfast building to create a new healthcare hub.The new Kings Hall Health and Wellbeing Park will see the vacant Kings Hall building and the surrounding site transformed into a new healthcare hub, with construction work being carried out by H&J. Benmore Octopus, a joint venture between Benmore Group and Octopus Real Estate, is behind the project.The first phase of the development will see the construction of Dataworks, a new precision medicine hub designed to attract data-focused medical companies, with London Stock Exchange listed Diaceutics having already signed up as a tenant for the 10,000 sq ft of space. The extended site will also include care for the elderly and assisted living accommodation, a mixed-use medical facility, as well as a multi-storey car park.Upon completion, it is estimated that the project will boost the Northern Ireland economy by £47m annually and support 640 full time equivalent jobs. It will also support a further 320 jobs indirectly.Additionally, the economy will receive a boost of £60m in gross value-added terms during the construction phase of the build, supporting 60 full-time equivalent construction jobs and a further 30 indirect construction jobs on a full-time equivalent basis.