The planning authorities in Cork will decide next month on a number of major projects which could have a seminal influence on the future development of the city centre and its immediate hinterland. The Eastgate development at Little Island, proposed by O'Flynn Construction, is on a 120-acre site and includes plans for 250,000 sq ft of retail space.
The developers should know within a few weeks whether this £400m development is to go ahead. Part of the development includes an 80-acre business park and this is already up and running.
The projection is that, ultimately, 5,000 people may be employed there. However, the retail side of the proposal has been the subject of a planning appeal and the result of it is now being awaited. For that reason details of tenants, including the anchor tenant, have not been finalised.
A planning decision by Cork Corporation is also expected to be made next month concerning phase one of a £300m complex at the Mahon area, across the River Lee from the Eastgate site.
The developers, O'Callaghan Properties Ltd, want to establish a retail park as well as a major shopping centre on the site and in phase two, there are plans to establish a national trade centre, cinema, leisure complex, a new hotel, bar facilities as well as commercial offices.
If both parts of this development go ahead, the Mahon project may lead to an estimated 3,500 permanent jobs and up to 2,000 construction jobs. A spokesman for O'Callaghan Properties said the retail park and shopping centre decision should be made known by Cork Corporation within a few weeks.
However, a separate planning application will then be made for phase two of the proposal. If successful, the Mahon and Eastgate sites will straddle both sides of the Lee, which are now connected by the Jack Lynch tunnel.
Together they will give the city's eastern suburbs a potent commercial and retail presence which will undoubtedly lead to a further boom in construction as well as property prices in the area.
The multi-million pound tunnel was primarily aimed at diverting heavy traffic from the centre of Cork and it has already begun to achieve this, but it is estimated that within five years, some 40,000 vehicles a day will be using the facility, bringing customers directly to the Eastgate and Mahon developments.
At Blackpool, construction of a £10m shopping complex, which will have Dunnes Stores as the anchor tenant, is already underway, and it is anticipated that the 30-shop facility will be fully occupied by next Christmas. Tenants are expected to include a mix of Irish and British retailers. There will be at least 630 car-park spaces in the new centre.
Its development coincides with major public infrastructure works now underway in Blackpool, and the total package ultimately will lead to a new lease of life for this part of Cork.
Another proposal now before Cork Corporation and on which a decision will also be taken next month is for the development of a 380-bed hotel at Cornmarket Street, just off the city centre.
The development, if planning is successful, will include a shopping arcade. Rockvale Investments is proposing to spend £40m. Again, it would transform this part of Cork, around which much has been done in recent years in terms of infill housing and restoration. The plans would link Paul Street to Cornmarket Street and there would be underground parking as well as conference facilities.
The buoyant activity reflects the fact that the economy in Cork has been benefiting from the Celtic Tiger in recent years.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in the cost of retail units in Patrick Street, where eight years ago, £80 a sq ft was the norm, whereas the cost at today's figures is at least £140 a sq ft.
Auctioneers in the city say that occupancy in and just off Patrick Street is running at 95 per cent and that there is an immediate take-up when a premises is available.
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