Shopping Centres:Two Portlaoise shopping centres are launching campaigns this week to fill new retail units. Jack Faganreports.
Two rival shopping centres in Portlaoise are launching marketing campaigns this week for retail units which are to come on the market for letting.
Harcourt Developments is to embark on a major extension of its Laois Town Centre while Dunnes Stores is ready to let around 4,000sq m (43,056sq ft) of retail units in its newly completed Kyle shopping centre. Dunnes opened its 6,000sq m (64,434sq ft) anchor store before Christmas and is apparently trading exceptionally well.
Karl Stewart of DTZ Sherry FitzGerald said yesterday that a number of leading UK and Irish multiples had already expressed strong interest in the Harcourt scheme.
The scheme would involve the redevelopment of the centre to bring the retail offering up to 28,505sq m (306,825sq ft).
The development would also include 1,500 car parking spaces and 50 apartments.
The extension would allow Tesco to increase its floor space to 8,082sq m (86,994sq ft)and Penneys would have a store of 6,517sq m (70,148sq ft).
As well as giving more space to the anchors, there will be 15 retail units available to let with floor areas from 76 to 450sq m (818 to 4,844sq ft).
Stewart says the extension has been designed to enhance the retail mix and to provide space to cater for modern retail requirements. Construction of the extension is due to commence later this year with an expected opening at Easter 2009.
Kyle shopping centre, owned and anchored by Dunnes, occupies a pivotal site in the centre of Portlaoise and, according to Stephen Murray of Jones Lang LaSalle, "is in a position to provide the dominant retail offering for the hinterland which has 127,000 shoppers within a 30-minute drive."
He said the scheme with 26 individual units had already attracted significant interest and letting offers in advance of any active public marketing.
The scheme includes 600 car-parking spaces beside the Laois centre and a four-acre site purchased by Aldi for a reported €19 million.
