The first step in the transformation of Dundrum in south Dublin from a village to a town takes place next month with the opening of the first phase of the new €650 million Dundrum Town Centre. Deirdre McQuillan, Fashion Editor, reports.
Details of the development, which will include the biggest shopping centre and private urban scheme undertaken to date in Ireland, will be unveiled today.
The old shopping centre, built in the l970s and one of the oldest in Ireland, is scheduled for demolition.
The centre, built on a l7-acre site, will provide employment for 3,000 people when all three phases are completed in 2008.
It will include the biggest retail shopping centre in the State with a number of exclusive stores, 25 restaurants and coffee shops, a town square, a theatre, a 12-screen cinema, a nightclub and parking for 3,500 cars. The first phase of the development officially opens on March 3rd when 100 of the 250 units will be open.
Such is the scale of the development that what was a small village has now been officially classified as a major town by Dún Laoghaire/ Rathdown Council. It also marks the first time a town centre has been completely recreated and changed by private interests.
Dundrum Town Centre is being developed by Crossridge Investments, a subsidiary of Castlethorn Construction. It is designed by Burke Kennedy Doyle Architects. The main building contractors are John Sisk and sons Ltd.
The units include major British multiples such as House of Fraser, Marks & Spencer, River Island and French Connection, as well as Zara. Swedish giant H & M will open its first store in Ireland in Dundrum.
Harvey Nichols, the London upmarket retail chain with a flagship store in Knightsbridge, will open in September as part of the phase one development. It will not only sell clothes, but it will also house a food hall, a restaurant and a nightclub.
The marketing strategy adviser for the development, Ms Jeanette Jordan, predicts that the development would bring new life into Dundrum. "We have created a new civic space," she told The Irish Times yesterday. "We want to make it a destination."
The spacious three-storey buildings are clad in glass, limestone and brick. Marbled interior malls surround an open civic space.
The Luas Balally stop will give direct access to the centre.
The car parks cover one million square feet and can accommodate 3,500 cars. They are as big as Croke Park on any one level and are brightly lit and painted. Systems have been set in place to tell you where to park and later where to find your car, using an automatic number plate recognition system.
A loop system allows for mobile phone signals underground, a concept developed to facilitate fire-fighters.
Level three of the centre will be a food area with tapas, wine bars and pizza ovens, "the best food in the fastest possible way", says Ms Jordan.
There is also a "sky bar" with views all over Dublin and plans to have a dedicated Dundrum TV station with news, sports, and fashion on monitored outdoor screens.
Ms Jordan, who is from Dundrum, is a key player in the project and has a long history of shopping centre management, having started her career in
the Nutgrove Centre in l984.
She was deputy manager at The Square in Tallaght for eight years before leaving to set up the first Bloomfield Centre in Dún Laoghaire. Four years ago she moved into the Dundrum development.
"I was born and bred in Windy Arbour and I know this place like the back of my hand," she said. "These are the places I played in and socialised in as a child and I feel I know what makes a good retail mix. This is an urban development like nothing else in any other country I have visited in Europe or the US."
The new town square, which will open in the autumn, is being created around the restoration of the 18th-century Mill House and Mill Pond.
This will be one of many civic spaces in the centre. A 200-seat theatre will be located in the square which will involve local amateur groups, and there are plans to accommodate adult education groups.
A bandstand will be the centre-piece of the outdoor entertainment programme incorporating festivals, music recitals and live bands.