€175m Charlestown shopping centre opens off M50

RetailMarket:Located at the N2/M50 interchange, the Charlestown centre - part of a major mixed-use development - will intensify competition among the major multiples for the area's shopping trade, writes Jack Fagan

Another major shopping centre along the M50 will open for business next Tuesday.

The €175 million Charlestown shopping centre, at the busy intersection of the N2 and junction five on the M50, will form the centrepiece of an impressive new urban centre which will include apartments, office, community services and leisure facilities. It also fronts on to St Margaret's Road.

The first phase of the new complex is closer to the M50 than Liffey Valley shopping centre and is set to benefit greatly from its strategic location, as well as the dense local population and the strong line-up of food, fashion and lifestyle traders. A pedestrian bridge is planned over the M50 to link up with the proposed north-south metro service.

Dunnes Stores is to anchor the centre with a 7,000sq m (75,347sq ft) shop on one level carrying a full range of groceries, drapery and home furnishings. The opening of the centre will allow Dunnes to put in a serious challenge, yet again, to Tesco which trades out of the Clearwater centre about a mile away. Superquinn's operation in Finglas village will also feel the effects after a bruising battle with German discounters, Aldi and Lidl, which trade almost alongside each other.

The vastly improved offering from Dunnes will put it in a strong position to corner a significant part of the local trade. Dunnes will be within walking distance of vast housing estates and, like Tesco, will be open round-the-clock.

With the builders still putting the finishing touches to the first phase of Charlestown, developers Tom and Michael Bailey of Bovale are gearing up to proceed with a second phase as soon as the planning comes through.

Overall, the development will eventually exceed 81,000sq m (871,884sq ft), creating a vast new city quarter that will have a resident population of over 1,000 people within five years and considerably more in the future.

The first phase alone has accounted for 44,000sq m (473,616sq ft) of which 17,200sq m (185,140sq ft) will be dedicated to retail use. The developers will also be looking for a major anchor tenant for the second phase of the shopping centre which will have eight further buildings.

Retail areas in the second stage will extend to over 4,600sq m (almost 50,000sq ft) and will include a range of cafés, bars and restaurants. There will be a health and fitness centre, pool, medical centre, crèche, 1,400sq m (15,069sq ft) of offices, 8,600sq m (92,570sq ft) of science and technology facilities, further car-parking spaces bringing the total up to 1,526 and more apartments to bring the total up to 404. With 38 acres available to the promoters, the intention is to provide a range of facilities to enhance the new town centre.

Visitors are likely to be impressed by the high quality of the new shopping centre which has been designed by London architect Bruce Gilbreth. The covered T-shaped shopping mall is both spacious and elegant with about 30 double-height retail units. A travelator in the centre of the mall will take shoppers directly down to the basement car-park.

The high quality materials, like the black marble shop facades and full height lighting, are not likely to date easily. Flowing lines and curved finishes promote a sense of sophistication and create the ideal backdrop for today's contemporary retail offering.

A distraction for young and old will be one of the world's largest plasma screens, a 103-inch display panel which will be used for interactive entertainment as well as customer information and advertising. Virtually all the shops have been booked in advance of next Tuesday's opening. Dunnes has bought its store while other tenants will be paying €484 and €1,076 per sq m (€45/€100 per sq ft). The other tenants, who have the option of installing mezzanine levels in their shops, will include Heatons which seems to have captured a significant niche in the shopping centre market in Ireland.

Other tenants will include Boots, Lifestyle Sports, Jack & Jones, Vero Moda, Game Stop, Bookstation, Eddie Rockets, The Bag Shop, Village Jewellers, Zuma Juice Bar, and McArdle Meats.

The joint letting agents are Ciara Croffy of Mason Owen Lyons and Stephen McCarthy of Savills HOK.

Bovale has been one of the first developers to incorporate many sustainable energy saving features into both the shopping centre and the residential units with the intention of reducing energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions.

As part of this programme, a combined heat and power plant has been built at basement level which uses Irish sourced wood pellets as well as gas. The pellets are zero-rated for Kyoto Protocol carbon emissions, given that it is recycled carbon from Irish woods.

Bovale will also be selling Dunnes part of its power requirements at about 10 per cent less than ESB charges.

The plant will also be supplying heating and hot water to apartments in the centre at a saving of over 10 per cent.

There are 285 apartments above the retail area in four five-storey buildings and one 12-storey tower which serves as a landmark building. Residents will have the use of a huge landscaped roof garden over the shopping centre which is likely to prove a popular escape from the hustle and bustle of the shopping complex.

The apartments have been selling well because of the keen prices which start at €280,000 for one-bedroom units, from €335,000 for two-bedroom homes, and from €395,000 for three-bedroom apartments.