Numavicius pauses work on former Superquinn site in Shankill

No word yet from Nerijus Numavicius, the Lithuanian billionaire and Maxima supermarkets magnate, on when he plans to resume redeveloping the former Superquinn shopping centre in Shankill, south Dublin.

Numavicius bought it for €6 million in 2012, using a company called Bilaro, and work was well advanced on the once decrepit centre before it abruptly halted in recent weeks. Local business owners wondered if the Baltic businessman had gone cold on the idea.

I asked Airidas Kondratas, the Lithuanian overseeing the Shankill redevelopment, if Bilaro had pulled the plug.

“The works stopped because of some construction issues. We have no intention to sell. That is all I can say at the moment,” he replied.

The council found the redevelopment was in breach of a planning condition, involving works to the public road, pedestrian crossings and cycle entrances.

Bilaro last month made a fresh application aimed at clearing up the compliance issue. Work should be free to recommence once it gets the go ahead.

One must always be cautious with construction issues. A Maxima-owned supermarket building in Latvia collapsed in 2013, a terrible tragedy that resulted in the death of more than 50 people.

Maxima didn’t develop the Latvian shopping centre and isn’t to blame for its collapse, of course. But it’s a salient lesson that you can never be too careful.