nog maar ff
Ambitious plans for Horgan’s Quay unveiled
Kevin O'Neill
A new €160 million development at Horgan's Quay will be home to 5,000 employees, more than 200 apartments and a 136-bed hotel.
advertisement
The ambitious plans also include almost 3,000 sq m of restaurants and retail, as well as a significant investment in the city's public realm.
The project is to be developed by HQ Developments Limited, a joint venture by Clarendon Properties and BAM Ireland, with a planning application due to be submitted this week.
It marks the latest stage in a two-decade long saga to redevelop the unused site at Horgan's Quay, adjacent to Kent Railway Station.
The office, retail and residential project will sit on 6.1 acres, including some 160 metres alongside the River Lee.
A computer-generate view of the planned Horgan's Quay development.
A computer-generate view of the planned Horgan's Quay development.
The Horgan's Quay development could be one of Cork's biggest employment hubs when completed.
Plans include three office blocks, with space for up to 5,000 employees.
In addition, some 237 apartments are planned in a further four blocks. According to developers, these are being constructed for the private rental market, providing an essential boost to Cork's struggling private rental market.
A 136-bed hotel, including a rooftop restaurant, is planned for the Lower Glanmire Road side of the side, while some 2,900 sq m of restaurant and retail space is proposed for the new development.
Developers have planned to restore three significant buildings on the site: the Station House, the Carriage Shed and the former Goods Shed, while provisions have also been made for some 5,000 sq m of public realm enhancements to better link Kent Railway Station to the city centre.
Tony Leonard, managing director of Clarendon, described the development as 'key to unlocking the future development' of the city's docks.
"This development presents Cork with an excellent opportunity to provide centrally located Grade A offices, residential and hotel accommodation together with ancillary retail and restaurant facilities in the heart of the city," he said.
"As the provision of high quality residential accommodation is a major factor in attracting new office tenants to the city, preference will be given to these tenants for the private rental accommodation in the development."
Theo Cullinane, CEO of BAM Ireland, added, "In addition to opening up an old industrial area of the city to habitable and public friendly space and enhancing the River Lee as a public amenity, this investment is creating much needed residential and office space and, indeed, jobs for Cork."
A computer-generate view of the planned Horgan's Quay development.
A computer-generate view of the planned Horgan's Quay development.
Cork Business Association welcomed the announcement of the development, describing it as a 'critical' site in the city centre.
CBA CEO Lawrence Owens said, "We are pleased to see a broad mix in the proposed plans for the site incorporating office, retail, residential, hospitality, plus an extensive public realm space fronting the River Lee.
"Cork city must continue to develop its infrastructure in order to be an effective counterweight to Dublin and projects such as Horgan's Quay will ensure Cork has the framework in place to attract FDI and obtain whatever opportunities that the fallout from Brexit will bring.
"However we are only too familiar in Cork with proposals that never come to fruition, our desire is to see cranes in the skyline along Horgan's Quay in the very near future and this exciting and transformative project underway."
If planning is approved, it is expected that construction will commence in 2018.