The Aurora building was a proposed construction project that was not granted planning permission. At its height of 109 metres, 37 storeys, it would have been the tallest building in the whole of Ireland. The proposed location of the Belfast tower was on the corner of Great Victoria and Ventry Street (the site formerly home to the city centre's last petrol station). Great Victoria Street also fronts other notable buildings in Belfast such as the Grand Opera House, the Europa Hotel and The Crown Liquor Saloon.
The development was to contain almost 300 apartments and 7,000 square feet (700 m2) of commercial space. It was seen as a key regeneration project for the area, which did not experience the same level of investment as the city centre, Cathedral Quarter or Laganside in recent years.
The contractors involved in the development are McAlister Holdings, Strategic Planning and HKR Architects.
Planning permission was refused, and a subsequent appeal was withdrawn in February 2011. The Aurora was placed into receivership on the instruction of Anglo Irish Bank on 27 January, the same day it placed two other McAlister sites into receivership. Those two sites at Greenhall Highway in Coleraine and Dunlady Road in Dundonald were the property of McAlister Construction Ltd.