£25m plan to redevelop ILAC gets the go-ahead

Work on the remodelling and enlargement of the ILAC shopping centre in Dublin is due to get under way this autumn following the granting of planning permission for the £25 million project. The redevelopment will increase the volume of retail space by 40 per cent to 320,000 sq ft, making it bigger than the nearby Jervis Centre. Permission has also been granted to develop more than 200 apartments on new upper floors along Moore Street and Parnell Street.

The new layout for the ILAC provides for a first floor gallery with shops along the central mall. The entire Moore Street mall is to be redeveloped to accommodate a new store of 120,000 sq ft for Dunnes Stores. The multiple will trade at basement, ground and first floor levels, with a supermarket as well as drapery and household departments. The company is to surrender its other store on the central mall in part exchange for the new flagship store. Irish Life recently agreed terms for the sale of a 30 per cent stake in the centre to the ESB Pension Fund when its work has been completed. At that stage, the centre is expected to have a capital value of around £100 million.

Sean O'Brien, Irish Life's associate investment director (property), said the two funds had compatible interests in the ILAC, which they saw as a strategic investment. The ILAC would continue to form a core part of Irish Life's £250 million retail portfolio. The company manages a property fund of £600 million. Mr O'Brien said that while preliminary work was due to start in September, the centre would remain open throughout the 18 months it would take to complete the project.