Owners of vacant Cork city centre warehouses still planning hotel development
The anti-eviction ban rally on Parnell Place last Saturday. Picture: Cian O'Regan
The owners of adjoining historic city centre warehouses which have lain vacant for almost a decade say they are still working on plans to develop a hotel on the site.
But Tetrarch Capital, which has owned the buildings on Cork's Parnell Place since 2017, said the current funding environment for regional hotel development was "very challenging".
The buildings, which once housed Maher's Outdoor Shop and Flor Griffin's, were bought by Cork City Council from Nama in 2014 as a strategic investment acquisition and later offered for sale in a bid to secure or kickstart the regeneration of that city block, close to the city's main bus station.
Tetrarch Capital bought the site in 2017 and was granted planning for a hotel there in mid-2019. But the properties have lain idle since. They are not listed on the city’s derelict sites register.
They were the focus of an eviction ban rally last weekend to highlight the scourge of vacant properties.
In a statement to the , a spokesman for Tetrarch said the impact of the covid pandemic meant it was impossible to proceed with the hotel project in recent years.
“The current funding environment for regional hotel development is very challenging and Tetrarch is continuing to work on a solution for the project,” he said.
The company also ruled out “meanwhile use” that might allow the buildings to be used for some gainful purpose pending redevelopment.
The spokesman said the properties were "not suitable for human habitation" and could not be used as temporary housing.
“As one of the largest providers of temporary accommodation facilities in the country, Tetrarch is aware of the high demand for such accommodation and is playing a vital role in providing it,” he said.
Cork City Council has said it is actively engaging with stakeholders on the future of the buildings.
