Objection to new Cork city centre hotel withdrawn
The company behind Dublin’s Citywest and Kilkenny’s Mount Juliet hotels look set to proceed with a new project on Cork City’s Parnell Place after an objection lodged with the planning watchdog was withdrawn.
Cork City Council had given Tetrarch Capital Ltd conditional permission to build a 165-bedroom hotel of between 3-7 storeys in height in the buildings that used to house Flor Griffin and Mahers, next to the bus station.
However, it had been subject to an appeal to an Bord Pleanála by a local resident who had previously raised concerns about the height of the building and its impact on adjacent properties. The planning authority has now confirmed, however, that this objection has been withdrawn, paving the way for developers to break ground on the project.
The proposed hotel will be accessed from Deane Street, as well as Parnell Place, and will include a ground-floor reception area, a restaurant/bar, retail unit, a food hall and a café/retail unit. To facilitate this, the developers have sought the partial demolition, redevelopment and extension of 7/8 and 9 Parnell Place and the demolition of existing structures to the rear of the buildings on Deane Street.
This demolition work will exclude an existing red-brick chimney which will be retained to become the focal point of a courtyard area for the hotel. The proposed development also includes the re-opening of an historic laneway connecting Parnell Place with Deane Street, and a set-down area on Deane Street.
In its submission to Cork City Council, Tetrarch Capital Ltd said there is an undersupply of branded budget three-star hotels in the city, and that its Parnell Place project will target demographics including “millennial travellers”, “cost-conscious guests limited by budget” and “the grey market”.
Confirmation that the appeal has been withdrawn comes just days after it emerged that an Bord Pleanála had upheld the planning permission granted to a €20m ‘Prism’ office development nearby.
The 15-storey glass-fronted office tower, the design of which has been inspired by the Flatiron building on New York’s Fifth Avenue, will be on the triangular site bounded by Deane St, Clontarf St, and Lower Oliver Plunkett St.
An Taisce had appealed Cork City Council’s decision to grant planning permission, and said the project could set an unfavourable precedent for the construction of tall buildings in the city centre island and would impact on important views.
Tower Holdings will oversee the development of the Reddy Architects + Urbanism-designed building, which will feature 60,000 sq ft of office space over the first 14 floors, with a roof-top terrace on the 15th floor.
It will provide workspace for some 600 workers, and more than 100 people will be employed during the construction phase. Conor Lee, Tower Holdings’ director of operations in Ireland, said it will serve to regenerate this area of the city centre.
“There is a strong demand for offices and commercial buildings within Cork city centre,” he said. “In particular, the size and scale of this commercial development is very much in demand in Cork.”
