Anyone searching for signs that Dublin keeps on changing and nothing stays the same need look no further than the big H&M posters in the windows of Clerys on O’Connell Street as it re-enters the world of retail this morning.
While there will be people buying and selling clothes on the site for the first time since it shut up shop in the dead of night almost a decade ago leaving 460 staff with neither notice nor jobs, many who visit the new-look Clerys Quarter might be confused or disappointed by what they encounter.
H&M – which has spread itself over 30,000 square feet and two floors of the former department store – will undoubtedly breathe new life into what was once Dublin’s pre-eminent shop.
It will also bring a fresh and desperately needed energy to the capital’s main thoroughfare.
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But today’s opening will not mark a return to times past and the quarter will remain very much a work in progress well into the future.
For starters, the revolving door entrance into the expansive, marble-coated atrium leading to the winding staircase that was once a centrepiece of the old-world Clerys will remain closed to the public until next year, with the rest of the building out of bounds for a long time to come.
But what is on offer now is a glimpse of what the Clerys Quarter is becoming. And when it fully reopens in 2025 – a good three years behind schedule – and all the pieces of the puzzle are slotted into place, the space will be a significant addition to the city centre, if for no other reason, than the views from the fifth floor restaurant.
That fifth floor is one of two added to the site although the new storeys have been sufficiently recessed from the street to allow the facade keep pretty much the same look it has had for more than a century.
When it is open, the restaurant will be able to cater for as many as 600 people at a time but what is likely to be a bigger draw than the food is the west-facing terrace looking down on O’Connell Street.
As part of the planning process the developers had to agree to keep such a viewing platform open to the general public, whether or not they choose to eat in the restaurant.
The terrace offers stunning views of the city from almost every conceivable angle and is almost certain to become a tourist attraction in its own right, with the Instagram set sure to fall head over heels in love with the sunset photo opportunities of the capital that the entirely new perspective will offer.
Another standout feature of the new-look Clerys will be the glass oculus that sits in the centre of the atrium and runs through the structure to the top of the building, with elevators to the public spaces and office spaces running up the sides.
The tea rooms on the first floor have also been retained with many of the original features, including coving and doors refurbished. All they need now is someone to start serving tea in them.
But before so much as a drop is poured for thirsty shoppers, the cash registers will be ringing out with the Swedish fashion retailer the first of the tenants to welcome customers through its doors and Decathlon set to follow suit this summer.
The management company accept there will be challenges filling the offices given the downturn in the sector, and it has yet to find tenants for either of the restaurants, but at least the lights have started to come on in a department store that was in darkness for a decade, and it should make the whole street that little bit brighter.
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