Government backing ‘vital’ as €750m docklands plan lodged
Gerry Wycherley, who will today lodge a €750 million planning application with Cork City Council for an ambitious redevelopment of the city’s iconic Ford and Dunlop’s site, said key infrastructure needs to be in place before developers can begin work. He cited key projects such as:
* The construction of two vital bridges – the €80 million Eastern Gateway Bridge and the Water Street Bridge – which have secured planning from An Bórd Pleanála.
* The development of a transport system to link docklands to the city.
* The upgrading of vital roads, including the raising by three metres of Centre Park Road, which has also secured planning.
“That has to happen before we can build,” Mr Wycherley said.
“The Government is going to have to look to the future. This [docklands] project has a hugely positive cost benefit analysis and will be a tremendous boost not just for Cork, but for the region.”
Two weeks ago, Enterprise Minister Batt O’Keeffe said the docklands project remains a Government priority and will be discussed by the Cabinet in September.
“We look forward to that. We hope the Government will engage with the project. They have given every indication they will,” Mr Wycherley said.
His 24-acre Marina Commercial Park (MCP) is the second largest single site in the docklands and has 350 metres of river frontage – the largest private river frontage in the city.
The planning application for some 2.5 million square feet of space at MCP, which could create up to 1,200 construction jobs, proposes the development of:
* More than 800 river-view apartments to house 2,230 people.
* A private marina for residents.
* A major visitor attraction in the former Ford factory.
* 286,000 square feet of parking.
* Almost 80,000 square feet of community services, 191,000 square feet of retail, 147,000 square foot of commercial, 200,000 square feet of business and technology and 752,000 square feet of office space.
He briefed city councillors yesterday and said it has the potential to create some 5,000 jobs upon completion.
Labour’s Cllr John Kelleher, chairman of the city’s docklands policy committee, welcomed the plans.
“Gerry is highly regarded as a successful businessman. He has an impressive track record and this is an important vote of confidence in the city, which will hopefully kickstart more projects,” he said.
Lord Mayor Michael O’Connell said: “The scale of the development which comprises various uses including residential, office, retail, leisure, culture and education can only add to the attraction of Cork and the docklands in particular, for future investment.”
Mr Wycherley is particularly excited about the proposed Ford Experience visitor centre. The Ford factory on the Marina was a prominent feature of the city’s industrial landscape during the 20th century.
The central factory building is now vacant and offers exceptional potential for future use as a visitor attraction of national and international scale and status, and if correctly marketed, it could attract between 200,000 and 300,000 visitors annually, he said.
Mr Wycherley also thanked the existing businesses at MCP, which he said have been extremely supportive of the redevelopment plans.
“We would also like to emphasise that we continue to market our units here with flexible letting terms to suit the needs of different businesses,” he said.
A number of Ireland’s leading consultants have been working on preparing the MCP planning application for over three years, including Henry J Lyons & Partners, Architects; Tom Phillips & Associates, Planning Consultants; Michael Punch & Partners, Consulting Engineers; Atelier Ten, Environmental Consultants; CHL Tourism and Heritage Consultants; Hyland Edgar Driver Limited, Landscape Architects; and David Slattery, Heritage Consultants.
GERRY WYCHERLEY is a director of Templeford Ltd and the Marina Commercial Park.
A native of Rosscarbery, Co Cork, he is involved in a number of tourism projects in West Cork, including the Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery and the Celtic Cottages in Schull.
His many business interests include Marina Commercial Park on the Centre Park Road, in Cork city, which he developed in the late 1980s on the sites of the former Ford and Dunlop factories.
He is also a founding director of the Cork Airport Business Park, which opened in 1997.
It is now home to many of the world’s top businesses including Pfizer, Bank of New York Mellon, GlaxoSmithKline, Amazon, Schering-Plough and Analog Devices.
“We started in the Marina Commercial Park in 1989 when times weren’t great,” he said.
“We started the Cork Airport Business Park in 1997 when times weren’t great either.
“This new project is a 20-year project. The world is going to change an awful lot over that period.
“Planning is a long process. We don’t know when we will get planning. And we don’t know our start date.
“But we need to have all our ducks lined up and ready for when the time is right. We need to be ready for when the market is right.
“Given the size of this development, it won’t all take place on one day but over quite a long period of time in line with market demands.”
