Re: ROCKFELL INVESTMENTS GET PERMISSION!!!

🙂 Rockfell Investments (Micheal O’Donoghue of the Munster Joinery and O’Donoghue/Ring Hotels) have been granted planning permission for their apartment and retail/department store development at Cornmarket Street. The development will consist of 65 apartments and over 120,000sq ft of retail/department store space throughout a huge, 35m euro 6-storey building, over basement (with 65 car-parking spaces). Joe Gavin, City Manager has said he hopes construction on the project will get going straight away. Confirmation of this is expected by Rockfell within the next day.

The development will be the first catalyst to a major rejuvenation of the famous but wore-down city centre street – and provide a major retail boost to this Western end of Patrick’s Street – as so much of the commercial activity is concentrated currently at the eastern end.

This is great news for Cork – after the disappointment of Werdna’s Water Street withdrawl (though it will be resubmitted), and the delay in Further Information by John Mannix for his eagerly awaited Washington Street development. The next big retail development is expected to be formally announced soon by O’Flynn Construction for their Eglinton Street site.

Let’s just all hope Rockfell get their project going soon – as no objections have been raised to the modifications made in the Significant Further Information submission. In fact, the Coal Quay Traders Association forwarded a supportive observation! I’ve read through the report and it looks very favourably on the whole project! Rockfell and Niall Coffey of Frank Ennis & Assoc have put an awful lot of work into getting this project right. Well done Rockfell!