The future of one of the largest commercial/retail developments proposed for Cork will be decided this week when two objectors to the €444 million project make their case at an An Bord Pleanála oral hearing.
It begins in Cork City Hall tomorrow and is expected to last for three days. O'Callaghan Properties Ltd (OCP), was one of 25 companies (24 Irish and one Scottish) which responded in 1998 to an invitation by Cork Corporation for development proposals on a 111-acre site in Mahon.
After a lengthy adjudication process, the proposals of O'Callaghan Properties were accepted. A purchase price for the land of €52.44 million was agreed; of this €3.81 million was earmarked by the corporation for community development projects, including several in the Mahon/Blackrock area.
The original proposal was for a mixed residential/commercial/retail development, but OCP subsequently transferred the residential element to McCarthy Developments for €3.17 million. This led to two separate planning applications to the corporation, by OCP and McCarthy Developments.
As part of its application, OCP carried out an environmental impact study which agreed with the assessment of the corporation's consultants that the greater Cork area needed extra retail space.
After planning scrutiny which lasted 25 months, the corporation scaled down the OCP retail proposals to 150,000 sq ft in planning permission which was granted in April of last year. Two objectors then emerged - Douglas Developments, owners of the nearby Douglas Court and Douglas shopping centres, and RGDATA, supported by the Musgrave Group, owners of Super Valu and Centra.
OCP had promised 3,500 full-time and 2,500 part-time jobs and the creation of 2,000 jobs during the five years of construction. It claims the objectors have held up phase one of the project which would have involved local expenditure of €76 million and 700 construction jobs. It says a decision may take a further nine months.