Green light for Cork City's landmark Roches Stores building to be split into retail units 

City Hall planners have approved plans to revive the former Roches Stores which is to be split into several new retail units 

Plans for the former Roches Stores Debenhams site on Patrick Street Cork - proposed facade

Cork City Council has approved plans for the former Roches Stores building on St Patrick's Street to be split into several retail units, clearing the way for it to return to full occupancy following the sudden closure of Debenhams in 2020.

Under new plans greenlit by City Hall, the landmark building will have four separate retail units.

Planning permission was sought to divide the main front section of the building on St Patrick’s Street into three ground-level units.

There will also be a fourth retail unit entered from the other side on Maylor Street.

Intersport Elverys, the building’s current owners, purchased the property for €12m in May 2023. 

It had originally been listed at €20m after Debenhams, which had leased the building, controversially ceased operations in Ireland in 2020.

Metal fencing has been placed around the front exterior of the former Roches Stores building on St Patrick's Street Cork where Debenhams was located before closing in recent years. Irish Examiner Property. Pic Larry Cummins

The planning application, submitted by Tricondale Ltd in July this year, includes a 24-page outline document by architects Henry J Lyons, which preserves the historic façade and signature dome of the former Roches Stores. 

In November, the owners of the premises filed extensive further information on their planning application to renovate and overhaul the historic premises after a request from City Hall.

Local planners sought clarification on several issues, including signage, rooftop solar panels, the protection of the historic building and the reinstatement of a pedestrian link to the Merchant's Quay Shopping Centre.

Conservation requirements dominated the requests, and planners queried if the shopfront designs would align with the early 20th-century style.

The council's green light marks the first phase of redevelopment of the vast two-acre store on Cork City's main street, seen as key to reducing its high vacancy rate.

The former Roches Stores building is one of the most prominent on Cork's main thoroughfare and has remained vacant since the pandemic. Pic: Larry Cummins 

A second application for a mixed-use development, including residential accommodation, a hotel, and additional retail in the rear section, is expected in the coming months. 

The developers said the proposed subdivision of the building will facilitate an economically viable and commercially sustainable basis for the retail offering, which will ensure its continued long-term use. 

The  Irish Examiner reported in July that lease terms had already been agreed for a beauty and cosmetics store on the right-hand side of the building, while Intersport Elverys will occupy the central area spanning 16,000 sq ft at ground level and 22,000 sq ft above, all located under a reduced atrium/dome area, which was installed in the 1990s.

Alongside Intersport Elverys, high-street fashion chain Zara and cosmetics retailer Rituals have been mentioned as possible future tenants of the site.

A fourth retailer will take space along the side elevation, with a dedicated entrance onto Maylor Street. 

The full redevelopment, which could potentially include a gym, retail, residential, or hotel use, depending on future planning applications, will re-establish pedestrian links from Maylor Street to Merchants Quay Shopping Centre.

The St Patrick Street site has deep roots in Cork retail history, dating back to William Roche’s founding of Roches Stores in 1901.

The original premises was destroyed in the December 1920 Burning of Cork, with the current nine-bay, three-storey, copper-dome-topped building opening in 1927.

In its decision published this week, Cork City Council approved the plans for the iconic building with 28 conditions.