A German real estate giant has received planning permission to proceed with its €200 million plan to redevelop and expand Mahon Point shopping centre in Cork City.
The development, which comprises 77,767sq m of ground floor space, will add some 13,000sq m of retail space to the existing footprint.
It will also include 251 apartments and a 6,434sq m office block over five storeys, as well as a multistorey car park.
On Tuesday, Cork City Council, which received the planning application from an Irish subsidiary of Deka Immobilien last July, granted permission for the expansion, subject to some 52 conditions.
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The Frankfurt-headquartered group also received permission to develop open space “civic areas, including a market square, which can accommodate the existing farmers’ market, civic and community events, as well as occasional pop-up structures and activities”, according to the decision notice.
Demolition of the existing western facade of the Mahon Point shopping centre will be required to facilitate part of the development.
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Many of the conditions attached to the grant of permission relate to waste management and other public health issues.
Others relate to the management of traffic near the development site.
In a submission to the planning authority in March, Transport Infrastructure Ireland raised issues around the data provided in support of the application.
The State body said there was “a recognised deteriorating traffic situation” in the Mahon and Jacob’s Island area of Cork City, and that there was a “deficiency” in the “data, analysis and mitigation measures” set out in the proposal.
The Irish Examiner reported that the development will cost €200 million and could bring the total value of Deka Immobilien’s Mahon Point scheme to around €500 million.
The German company entered the Irish shopping centre market in 2005 with its acquisition of Mahon Point for €250 million.
It also bought the Whitewater Shopping Centre in Newbridge, Co Kildare, for €180 million in 2016.
