A former hotel in Bangor has been converted into social housing and has received the top social housing award at the Royal Society of Ulster Architects Awards for 2026.

The Savoy development on Broadway consists of 26 two-bedroom apartments for people aged over 55. The project reuses the original 1930s Art Deco hotel building and incorporates two adjacent post-war apartment blocks.

McGarry-Moon architects designed the scheme for Clanmill Housing Association. The new facade uses white rendered walls, curved lines and minimal detailing to match the Streamline Moderne style of the original structure.

The development maintains a two-storey height along Broadway before rising to align with the former hotel. Apartments are arranged around central cores, with communal terraces and a shared garden.

Judges said the scheme responds to its surroundings through controlled massing and creates a contemporary language without pastiche.

North Down MLA Andrew Muir presented the award at the Ulster Hall in Belfast. He said the project provides needed social homes while respecting local built heritage.

The work was carried out by Derryleckagh Contracts Ltd.