Mallow back in business after recent retail sales and activity
Savills’ Commercial Director and Mallow native Peter O’Meara says the town is turning the corner as market activity picks up.
High Street retail slumped since 2008, with the majority of enquiries over the past five years being from discount-style retailers, says O’Meara, noting: “Mallow has been no different to any other town or city in this regard.
“One of the reasons that it seems more prevalent in Mallow is the fact that its Main Street is so long.
“Significant recent activity includes the sale of the former Mallow Park Hotel to MM Capital for a figure close to €320,000/€330,000, and a planning application is being prepared for a retail-led development, comprising one or two large units locally, with negotiations ongoing with potential tenants.
“This will provide a significant lift to a prime area of the street, given that the property has been semi-derelict for a number of years,”says the Savills director.
“Also, the recent sale of the Clock House (reportedly to a firm of accountants) will further lift the street’s appearance. These are two iconic town centre sites and their re-development/upgrading is critical to Mallow’s resurgence,” states Mr O’Meara.
He says the AppleGreen investment at The Spa, vacant for many years, is also good news.
“All these investments will prove to be beneficial to the town and should help to boost the perception from outside as well as from within.”
Mallow has also seen large investment over the last two years from Cork County Council who firstly bought the town’s historical castle (in excess of €2 million) and in August agreed to pay over €1 million for Mallow Town Park.
Those two purchases may not have a direct commercial impact, but will enhance the town’s ability to attract tourists, one of the main aims of the re-launched Mallow Development Partnership group, according to Mr O’Meara.
: www.mallow.ie.
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