Plans for new apartments at Hickeys in Cork City centre
Hickeys hardware store on Maylor St in Cork City centre. Planning permission is sought to put up 32 new apartments alongside the business which will continue to trade. Picture: Larry Cummins
Plans have been lodged for the major redevelopment of the Hickey’s hardware store in the centre of Cork City that will include a six-storey apartment complex.
The site between Oliver Plunkett St and Maylor St is located on the centre island in the heart of the city’s retail core and will see the development of 32 new apartments if permission is granted.
The proposed development will see the existing building and five upper floor apartments on Oliver Plunkett St retained, with the warehouse and office buildings on the Maylor St side being demolished.
This is to facilitate the construction of a new six-storey building that will accommodate the apartments made up of 11 one-bed units, 12 two-bed, and nine studio units, all facing on to Maylor St.
The development will also include a podium courtyard which the developer said would maintain a respectful distance from nearby Meade’s wine bar.
The application was submitted by Butler O'Neill Total Planning Solutions on behalf of Hickeys owner John Kennedy.
The Hickeys store will continue to operate from the redeveloped site and the five existing apartments on Oliver Plunkett Street will not be impacted.
“The lack of residential development in the area leads to high levels of inactivity in the evenings and night time and causes a low quality or unsafe pedestrian environment with a general lack of passive surveillance and vibrancy,” the planning documents state.
Primarily a retail street, Oliver Plunkett St has numerous residential units above shops and the area has won urban design awards in the recent past.
“An increase in residential units and people living in this area will add to the vibrancy and quality of the pedestrian environment in this area.”
The applicant also said they altered the initial design to take on board concerns raised by Cork City Council in pre-planning discussions including the addition of the open space courtyard and the reduction in the size of the apartment block.
“The proposed development offers an exciting opportunity at city centre infill development which remains sympathetic to the surrounding architectural contexts of both Maylor and Oliver Plunkett St,” they stated.
Also this week, plans have been lodged with Cork City Council by IFES Electrical Services Ltd to convert the former garda station on MacCurtain St into a residential building.
The development proposes nine apartments in the four-storey structure, five of which would be studios.
Internal modifications and the addition of 15 bicycle spaces are also proposed.
The garda station closed many years ago as part of a national programme of closures. It was put on the market for sale in 2019.
