Planning sought for €50m event centre
However, an earlier plan which suggested a 260-room hotel as part of the development, now appears to be shelved by developers, O’Callaghan Properties (OCP.)
It is understood that OCP has been working with the world’s largest live entertainment company, Live Nation, and are in negotiations with them about the venue, capable of holding 7,500 attendees, or 5,000 seated.
The proposed centre is on a site of 1.75 acres on Albert Quay, close to City Hall, the bus station, rail station, Park and Ride service, two multi-storey car parks, and within a short walk of the city centre.
The site is fully-owned by OCP, who assembled it at a cost of more than €20 million, including a significant purchase from Cork City Council of the former planning office, Navigation House, whose historic stone facade will be integrated into the overall 110,000 sq ft building.
It could accommodate 5,000 concert patrons — about the same as the Marquee, a temporary tent structure used for summer concerts in Cork because there’s no permanent venue of this size.
Designed by architects Henry J Lyons, the Albert Quay project envisages “a fully adaptable event centre, including ‘run-out’ stage, to house concerts, conferences, sporting and leisure events and trade shows,” said a spokesperson. The Event and Conference Centre will have restaurants, bars, merchandising and reception areas, as well as offices and service facilities, he added.
It is one of several competing sites for such a centre: others mentioned include the Beamish and Crawford site, Kent Station/Horgan’s Quay, the Coal Quay and others.
Should Owen O’Callaghan be successful in his planning application, he could be back seeking an €8m contribution from Cork City Council, which he had to return after his Mahon site was deemed unsuitable for an event centre by former city manager Joe Gavin.
Such a venue could host concerts and West End shows on extended itineraries from Dublin venues like the Grand Canal Theatre and O2, as well as trade, boat and motor shows, exhibitions and sports events, as well as conferences, with a benefit to the hospitality and hotel sectors.
According to Owen O’Callaghan, it could be built in 18 months, creating 300 construction jobs during that period, with 40 full-time and 150 part-time jobs in its operation.
Although the site — en route to the docklands campus — was first acquired for offices, mr O’Callaghan said the location was highly suitable for such a new use.
He described it as “a major project for Cork and the Munster region. The absence of a major event centre in the south of the country has been a very big negative. We have not been able to capture our share of conference, entertainment and sporting events.
“Thousands of people travel to Dublin every year for these events, taking substantial business out of the region. It will help to put us more forcefully on the international map, create jobs and help to attract inward investment,” he said.
