The operator of Dublin’s Jervis Shopping Centre has sought permission to convert a long-vacant retail unit into restaurant space.
JSC Properties Limited said unit 20, one of the largest at Jervis and which accounts for 5 per cent of the total space, has been vacant since 2018 and was difficult to re-let.
The 1,400sq m unit on the first floor was previously occupied by US youth fashion retailer Forever 21 until it closed its Irish business in January 2018.
JSC Properties has asked Dublin City Council for permission to change the unit’s designation from from retail to restaurant use.
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A report submitted as part of the application by JSA Planning on behalf of Jervis Shopping Centre said the landlord had faced difficulty leasing the space to a new occupier.
“The unit has been vacant since January 2018 and, despite extensive marketing, has received no offers,” JSA Planning said.
“The applicant advises that the unit is constrained for retail use by its first-floor location and limited shopfront presence, which has rendered it difficult to re-let in its former retail format.”
Last year, the shopping centre, on the city centre’s northside, was bought by UK-headquartered investor Pradera, a retail property investment and fund management specialist.
The centre has a vacancy rate of close to 30 per cent. The operators said this vacancy level had corresponded with decline in peak footfall from 16 million to 11 million visitors annually.
The centre has 79 per cent of its floorspace zoned for retail use and 6 per cent of space can be let to food and drinks businesses.
If the proposal by JSC Properties to convert unit 20 into a restaurant space is approved then it will reduce overall retail space at the Jervis centre to 75 per cent and boost the share of food and beverage space to 11 per cent.
JSC Properties’ submission to the council said a new restaurant space in the centre would help reduce vacancy.
“There is low market demand for large-format retail units at first-floor level, which has rendered the unit unlettable in its previous retail form,” it said.
“The proposed development will reactivate this long-vacant floorspace through a complementary restaurant use in line with the repurposing approach supported by the retail strategy.”
