cork docklands

[Leesider]

remarkable that the govt have no means apparently of giving us a bridge costing 60m to kickstart the entire docklands but magically a bridge that costs 59m is sitting on a barge just outside Dublin Port having arrived from Rotterdam

not to mention the 5 billion for the metro......I will say it again our politicans are crap!

[SoundsDreamy]

not to mention the 5 billion for the metro......I will say it again our politicans are crap!

+ 1

It's sad to see private business (the sextant, an crubin, el vino, boardwalk etc) close to the elysian being brave enough to give it a go but getting f*** all in return. The Bonded Warehouse is a MUST as cultural/CHQ type building.

[who_me]

Sure the jackeens don't need it now that the IFSC is gone quiet...

Could we stage a daring raid to steal it? It's probably too short but sure we could throw a few planks across the gap until we find the extra few bob.

From Dublin? Surely, A Bridge Too Far? (sorry!)

[Pug]

Can second this - we're about to move from the city centre for this very reason. D'OH!

thats mad, i think there was a good few due to come on line but i imagine the developers are holding tough in the downturn, immediate thoughts of ones i thought would be available are Lapps Quay, Clarkes Bridge, The Elysian, Georges quay and in time then the Sullivans Quay might be around and i think whoever it is on grand parade that is developing the site by the library, from what i saw on city planning website yesterday, seemed to have got the nod to change residential to office

you're right though, the space that comes to mind is all eastgate, city gate, ballincollig etc

[Angry Rebel]

All of the office space you quote is small floor plate stuff...no good if you are a google of this world...

[jungle]

But the type of office space that who_me and I can't find isn't the sort that Google would need.

In our case, we need about 300 square metres for our current usage, but would be looking for closer to 500 to allow for planned future expansion.

There is an incredible lack of office space of that kind around the city centre considering we're at the end of a boom where we're supposed to have built too much property.

I guess the market wasn't as profitable as housing a few years ago, but it seems to be a lot more robust now. There aren't many vacant new offices around the city centre.

The Elysian only had three offices built into it. One has already gone to ACC. The others are too small and also command a premium for street frontage that we don't particularly need.

[davea]

Where is all this talk of google moving to Cork coming from?
Google currently have quite nice office space in Grand Canal Dock in Dublin. If Howard Holdings or some other Developer were to build large corprate office space in the docklands who is to say that google or any other large company based in Dublin or elsewhere would move their base to Cork?
The only real hope for attracting these types of companies is to attract companies not yet based in Ireland to set up in Cork when they do move here. This isn't likely to happen for a good few years

[Pug]

yeah, i think the lads are making the point more about floor space sizes rather than Google coming to Cork. Dead right though, there isnt huge floor space for offices really available right in city centre. Mate of mine worked in the Siemens building over by Penrose Quay and thats idle at the moment i think, must be fairly big and very new?

[cgcsb]

Google is moving it's offices across the street to the new Montevetro tower in Grand Canal Dock, Dublin. For those who don't know the developement, it's literally beside a dart station and I mean the front door is less than 10 metres from the station. Good luck competing with that!

[mickeydocs]

Amazon opened their European hq in Cork.

[browser]

Yeah, a lot of the businesses in the airport business park really should be in the city / docklands eg. Amazon, Citco, Hibernian, etc. I thought there was some rule that you can only get planning for headquarter operations in the city centre? Wasn't there a lot of controversy on this issue viz the Rev Comms move to Blackpool?

If you had these sized operations in the city centre it would greatly improve the post work atmosphere on weekday evenings (the city is a ghost town from 6pm to 9pm most nights), would lead to more city living and would in turn better justify Cork's claim to have light rail etc.

[Pug]

Yeah, a lot of the businesses in the airport business park really should be in the city / docklands eg. Amazon, Citco, Hibernian, etc. I thought there was some rule that you can only get planning for headquarter operations in the city centre? Wasn't there a lot of controversy on this issue viz the Rev Comms move to Blackpool?

If you had these sized operations in the city centre it would greatly improve the post work atmosphere on weekday evenings (the city is a ghost town from 6pm to 9pm most nights), would lead to more city living and would in turn better justify Cork's claim to have light rail etc.

you mean the Revenue building where they never included proper amount of parking so now loads of people park on the main road causing an obstruction? imagine that, people actually visiting a Revenue office for forms and to sort out taxes. Very unusual.

[Angry Rebel]

You're forgetting that there are the guts of 500 parking spots in that development...oh wait, sorry I forgot that they are for staff and only 10 are for customers. Damn pesky customers.

[who_me]

But the type of office space that who_me and I can't find isn't the sort that Google would need.

In our case, we need about 300 square metres for our current usage, but would be looking for closer to 500 to allow for planned future expansion.

In our case, we're even smaller - about 200m2. We found a handful of suitable options around the city, but all were priced at a premium. Lack of parking didn't help either (several employees from outside the city, so public transport not an option).

My 5 minute walk to work has turned into a 30 minute commute.. but can't complain, considering! The docklands would have been idea - right side of the city and still central, but it's in limbo.

[green_jesus]

What up with the Atlantic Quarter its website has been removed?

http://www.atlanticquarter.ie

http://www.atlanticquarter.com

[cgcsb]

Does Cork City Council run this scheme? if they can't even keep the website running, how can they possibly organise a new bridge, stadium, light rail line and office/residential/retail area?

[jungle]

I was passing yesterday and noticed a planning permission application had gone on the old Cork Warehouse Company site (the last part of the Elysian block that's still undeveloped)

So here's the application from the Corporation Website

The demolition of the building known as the Cork Warehouse Co Ltd at the corner of Albert Street and Albert Quay and the construction of a mixed use office development with ground floor retail area. The proposed development has a height of 7 no storeys with an additional 2 no storey set back fronting the junction of Albert St and Albert Quay. The proposed development includes 2no levels of basement car parking for 87 no vehicles accessed from Albert Street, ESB switch room, plant room, roof top plant area and hard and soft landscaping. The site is bound to the north by Albert Quay, to the south by Port Lane, to the east by Albert Street and adjoins a disused commercial building to the west. The overall development comprises of 13,462.27 sqm GFA of office space and 2no ground floor retails units totalling 846.59 sqm GFA. The proposed development requires a waste licence for the disposal of excavated soil off site.

[jungle]

Odlums are closing their premises on Kennedy Quay.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0702/odlums.html

While, it's obviously unfortunate for the workers involved, this needs to be a wake up call for the council. This is probably the Docklands building most worth preserving.

[Radioactiveman]

The workers must have known this was coming. Had been heavily mentioned for re-development.
Agreed, its a fantastic building with major scope for a civic, cultural use. In fairness, CCC have recognised this too and written it into the local area plan. The developers themselves are also conscious of this.

Nearby, Joe Gavin is due to bring forward a motion to list (i.e. make a protected structured) the remaining Ford production buildings on the quays. Now used for a multitude of retail and manufacturing uses, they have a rich industrial history underneath all the modern rubbish.

[Pug]

Does Cork City Council run this scheme? if they can't even keep the website running, how can they possibly organise a new bridge, stadium, light rail line and office/residential/retail area?

its nothing to do with the city council, its private developers. City council to be fair are tipping away at things like seveso sites, organising the CPO on the road networks, i think the application for the bridge is trawling through government and EU funding applications (but its something the government could have invested in for Cork ages ago but we are shafted as per usual)

[venividi]

Nearby, Joe Gavin is due to bring forward a motion to list (i.e. make a protected structured) the remaining Ford production buildings on the quays. Now used for a multitude of retail and manufacturing uses, they have a rich industrial history underneath all the modern rubbish.

Which buildings are those, exactly?

[Paul Clerkin]

Alarm as €2m funds to kick off Docklands plan deferred

By Eoin English and Conor Ryan

Saturday, July 04, 2009

THE Government is under fire for stalling a decision to release just €2.3 million to help kickstart the State’s largest urban regeneration scheme.

Cork’s Lord Mayor Cllr Dara Murphy said the decision to defer vital funding for infrastructure for the city’s ambitious Docklands plan could bring the entire project grinding to a halt.

His warning follows confirmation from Environment Minister John Gormley that funding decisions relating to crucial Docklands infrastructure projects have been deferred "having regard to the prevailing budgetary constraints".

Mr Gormley revealed the decision in a written reply to a parliamentary question. Mr Murphy said he was alarmed by the move.

"The withdrawal of this funding is extremely shortsighted and shows a bias against the southern capital," he said.

The city council immediately needs €2.3m to appoint a design team for the proposed Eastern Gateway Bridge, the Lord Mayor insisted.

The €80m swing bridge, which will be the largest of its kind in Europe, is designed to unlock the entire south docks area for redevelopment.

The council applied in 2007 to the Government’s Gateway Innovation Fund for €60m to help build it. It has been waiting for an announcement since.

But Mr Murphy said the decision to defer funding will effectively "handcuff a progressive local authority".

The council has been working for several years on the project.

Howard Holdings has been granted planning permission for its €2bn Atlantic Quarter project. Several other major docklands projects are in the pipeline.

The council has spent over €5m on preliminary design and planning approval for the bridge. A public hearing into land acquisition has been held and a decision is expected from An Bord Pleanála within weeks.

The council has completed the tender process for a design team and needs just €2.3m to formally appoint the team.

The council hopes the building work will start in April 2011 and that the bridge will open to traffic in the first quarter of 2013.

But Cork Chamber chief executive, Conor Healy said the minister’s announcement is "completely unacceptable and lacks clarity".

"It is disgraceful that the Government is now going down the line of cutting back on productive capital and infrastructural expenditure, with proven cost benefit analyses, which are vital to the future of Ireland’s economy," he said.

The Cork Docklands Forum, set up by former taoiseach Bertie Ahern in 2007 and chaired by ex-UCC president Professor Gerry Wrixon, says the potential of the project — the biggest proposal since the International Financial Services Centre in Dublin 20 years ago — is huge.

The forum also recommended that the Exchequer should fund hundreds of millions of euro worth of infrastructure to kickstart the development.

Its report has yet to be published.



This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Saturday, July 04, 2009

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/snojojqley/rss2/#ixzz0KVG43MRG&D

[Pug]

two years after the CPO started, Cork City council are to pay 10 million to the Munster Agricultural society for the showgrounds (who had wanted 40 million apparently).

It might mean at last, the council can get on with figuring out some way of sorting out a redeveloped pairc ui chaoimh. To be fair, it does seem as if city manager Joe Gavin is tipping away in the background with bits and pieces in the docklands.

Pairc ui chaoimh should now be redeveloped into a multi discipline fabulous stadium. Council will also have to be aware of Munsters plans to redevelop Musgrave Pk, I'm sure they wouldnt want cork to miss out and have all munsters games end up in Thomond Park

[jungle]

And slowly the process continues.

http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/changes-agreed-to-citys-docklands-strategy-102639.html

I hope to see the docklands redeveloped in my lifetime.

[Steady]

I hope to see the docklands redeveloped in my lifetime.

How old are you?