Shopping Centres: Dundrum is set to become one of the key suburban shopping areas in Dublin following yesterday's decision by An Bord Pleanála to grant permission for the demolition and redevelopment of the present shopping centre.
The €200 million project is to be carried out by Castlethorn Developments, which is already building the new €250 million town centre on the opposite side of the village.
The combined appeal of the two centres - they will be linked by pedestrian walks - is expected to transform Dundrum into the primary shopping complex in south Dublin.
This will be in line with the overall planning strategy of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Co Council, which is committed to developing Dundrum as the second major town in the borough.
A spokesman for Castlethorn said last night that yesterday's decision by the planning appeals board would allow them to proceed with the last piece in the planning jigsaw for new shopping and public amenities.
The decision will allow Castlethorn to replace the present outdated shopping centre with a modern three to five-storey complex which will cover the entire 6.45-acre site. The board has cleared the way for the development of 30,263 sq m (325,747 sq ft) of shopping facilities on top of the mixed development of 78,965 sq m (850,000 sq ft) already under construction.
The latest permission provides for a glazed central plaza with a range of community facilities and exhibition areas as well as a 105-bedroom hotel, bars, restaurants, leisure units and family entertainment centres.
An underground car-park with over 1,500 spaces will link-up with a similar park at the new town centre due to open in the spring of 2005.
A new library will occupy a high profile location at the western end of the new shopping centre.
The latest tranche of retail space approved by the board will include three department or anchor stores with a gross retail area of 16,721 sq m (almost 180,000 sq ft) and a total of 76 individual outlets.
With Tesco due to occupy one of the anchor stores in the new town centre under construction, it is thought unlikely that the multiple will also continue to trade in the redevelopment centre. An identical run-of-the-mill supermarket there would do nothing to enhance the appeal of the second centre. The House of Fraser will be another anchor in the town centre but even more importantly, the international fashion retailer Zara has chosen the town centre for its second major outlet in Ireland.
More than 80 per cent of the retail space has already been committed and there is intense competition among traders for the remaining units.
The project manager for the latest centre is Lafferty Design headed by Pat Lafferty.
Castlethorn bought the old shopping centre early in 1999 for almost €18 million. The centre has been hampered by a shortage of car-parking space since it opened in the 1970s and has become slightly dilapidated in recent years.
Castlethorn is now one of the largest property developers in Ireland. Apart from its involvement in shopping centres, it also has an extensive housebuilding operation in the Dublin area and will be one of the developers of the huge Adamstown scheme in west Dublin.
