Planning sought for €100m Wilton regeneration

Planning permission for the €100m-plus renewal of the 40-year-old Wilton Shopping Centre is being sought from Cork City Council this week.

The ambitious plans for the retail centre’s northern section, close to Cork University Hospital and the Maternity Hospital include a 190-bed hotel set to serve hospital visitors among other guests, a 14-screen cinema, a public plaza, a giant two-storey Penneys unit, and some other “big box” new retail space, along with an 874-space multi-level carpark among other additional parking provisions.

Behind the plan are retail investors and developers Clarendon Properties who acquired the Wilton Centre as part of a portfolio sale in 2015, for about €70m, and who now control a number of other prime Cork shop investments after a buying spree.