Developments in Cork
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Permission is being sought for the demolition of existing buildings at Pope’s Quay, close to St. Mary’s Church and the construction of 16 x 2 bed apartments. See attached proposed facade. Lots of wood and glass from what I can tell. Could do with being simplified and brought down a floor in my opinion.
In Blackpool, Joe Carey & Frank Sheahan have submiited an application for planning on “the island site” at Assumption Road. This is to the North of the protected Mill building, to the South of the former Assumption Convent, to the East of the Blackpool Bypass (and also of the protected Madden’s Buildings) and to the west of the new Revenue Commisioners building (currently under construction). It’s a six storey office development over two storyes of parking (one underground, one ‘partially underground’). It looks very monolithical will block all views of the new Revenue building which seems a little pointless. Looks as if there’s little or no variation in the whole structure, althjough the large plaza piercing through the structure is an imaginative move. Judge for yourself:
Here’s the location (centre, marked in red):
Carey and Sheahan also own the old mill building but seem content with building new buildings adjacent to it, rather than cleaning up and maintaining the older building!Note the location of the T&A site assembly. Much of which is now in the hands of one developer. A large development on the site is to be expected in the short to medium term.
Loftus completed the purchase of T&A building supplies on Watercourse Road (with rear access on Great William O’Brien Street), as well as the adjacent public house about a year ago. It is widely believed that Loftus also own (and have done for a number of years) the low density retail units between T&A and the former Lido Cinema building.
The site itself is similar in size to Frinailla’s Watercourse Road offering, City Square/Lady’s Well and is within a stones throw of the new Government Buildings/Revenue Offices currently under construction. With both Blackpool Shopping/Retail centre and St.Patrick’s Street just a 10 minute stroll away, this site will be a developers dream for residential use.
A sale price of €12.5 million has been mooted.Note too the TNP partnership site (marked in green) whish was granted permission for apartments/retail only a few days ago (see my post on the last page for image).
I would imagine the T&A site will be fairly sensitive in terms of what goes there. As it fronts onto the Watercourse Road and is in an area of existing one and two storey housing a tall apartment block is presumably unlikely.
The Pope’s Quay plan is only OK. As said by radioactiveman, it could lose a floor. Pope’s Quay is one of the best preserved quaysides in Cork and while there has been an amount of contemporary development, care has to be taken not to damage it (Now, if that was proposed for Kyrl’s Quay, I would be leaping for joy).
I was up in Shandon today and I was just wondering what was the Firkin Crane building built for, and what exactly is in there now?
The Firkin Crane was built on the site of the former Shandon Castle (Sean, old; dun, fort/castle). The name Firkin Crane refers to it’s part in the butter trade. A firkin (Danish word) was a standard measure of butter (approx 80 lbs or half a barrel. It was here that the Firkins were unloaded by crane (hence the name).
The Firkin Crane building was opened in August 1855. It was designed by Sir John Benson to meet the need for increased space for the Butter Exchange.
The building is on the site of a 1784 Dominican chapel which was built on the site of Shandon Castle, a 16th century building which was, for a time, the seat of Tudor power in Munster. The castle was not rebuilt after the siege. Local tradition has it that stone from the castle was used in the building of nearby church of St Anne’s Shandon. The Butter Exchange acquired the building in 1852 and the Dominicans built a new church and priory in Pope’s Quay.A contemporary account from the Cork Examiner explains the building’s unusual shape:
“It is completely circular, and has a diameter of about a hundred feet. By a most ingenious arrangement the entire rafters of the immense roof converge upon one large center pillar, like the ribs of an umbrella upon the handle, and thus instead of having the space, the great object, interfered with by numerous pillars, the whole support does not occupy the room of more that three or four feet. The roof meets in a circular ridge, and the rain falling on the inside descends into the center pillar, which is hollowed, and conveys it to the reservoir. Around the outer edge of the roof a chute runs, which conveys the water by several pipes into the same receptacle, and so preserves for the purposes of cleaning firkins, and the many other uses for which it was required. Amongst the many advantages of this ingenious arrangement, one not the least important is the saving of the walls from damp. The entire cost of the building has been about £1,500.”When their Butter Market closed in 1924 James Daly & Sons occupied the building until the 1970’s when the manufacture of margarine carried on by them were transferred to new premises. (The same Daly was later to gift a pedestrian bridge to the city: Daly’s Bridge or the ‘Shakey Bridge).
The deserted building was completely destroyed by fire on 6th July, 1980. Thanks to the efforts of a group of businessmen under the Chairmanship of former Taoiseach, Jack Lynch the building was restored and taken over by Cork Corporation. For a while the building housed the now defunct Irish National Ballet. It is now the home of the Institute for Choreography and Dance.
The building is associated with the Butter exchange building and the Butter Museum nearby. There are plans to dramatically improve public access to the Butter exchange and concentrate the buildings uses on tourism.
Interior view:
Yeah they need to improve public access to it because I’ve never heard of it before, let alone seen it, and I’ve been living near Cork for I dont know how long.
Where is it?
@THE_Chris wrote:
Yeah they need to improve public access to it because I’ve never heard of it before, let alone seen it, and I’ve been living near Cork for I dont know how long.
Where is it?
Go to Shandon and look down 🙂
Thats a fairly big tree to be growing on a roof
Does it cost anything to go up the bell tower of St. Annes?
If any area in Cork is primed for development, this is it. With Shandon, the Butter Museum, and the (greatly under-used, IMO) Firkin Crane all in close proximity in a small square, served by several old laneways, this area is greatly wasted at the moment.
@PTB wrote:
Does it cost anything to go up the bell tower of St. Annes?
Yes. Approx €5, I think. Its well worth it though!
I just took a wander through the city this lunch time having been away for a few weeks. In general the City is improving on a daily basis but there are some annoying eyesores that really should be sorted out.
I think the Grand Parade is coming along nicely. The wide pavements look well but one criticism would be the lack to date of bars, restaurants and cafes with outside seating as it is ideal for this – Soho is the honourable exception. In this regard the loss of the former restaurant/cafe next to Fitzgeralds electrical – now a (admittedly nice) shoe store – is a pity. Still such changes of use will happen with time I’d imagine.
The start of Washington St is similarly benefiting from the Council’s work and again business is following the council’s lead with a new cafe and v nice new restaurant on the side by Singer’s Corner (surely due a change of use itself even if it is an institution!). On the other side of the road comes bugbear no.1 – Mannixs. Why? It is an attrocity of an eyesore. Moreover it has PP for (I’d say) 3 yrs. Anyone any idea if there are plans to build? Anyone any idea when the Planning runs out?
The Coal Quay is similarly coming along and the new shopping centre will be fine (I’d say ready at Christmas judging by progress). Its no world beater but the Church bit will be nice and I assume there will be access (and views) to it from Paul St. On the Opp side of Coal Quay there is a new version of the Coal Quay bar (“the Cornstore”) which seems very nicely appointed and a big improvement on its predecessor. Quite what is happening with the Bodega God only knows but given the original reason for OOC’s purchase was as temporary accommodation for a shop, the lack of that new use to date (or any sign of it) is a bit of a mystery. Surely the need for such use will pass soon?
Finally Washington St itself is slowly improving and the new Jurys and associated apartments look quite well. However bugbear no.2 is the Kino. Again it has PP for years for a 3 storey redevelopment as a two (three?) screen arthouse cinema plus cafe, etc. Any idea if there is any progress likely soon? Surely the PP is going to run out in the next 18 months I’d have thought………..
Just as a general observation, on a sunny day Cork is rapidly becoming a nice city to walk around – particularly Patrick St, the streets toward Paul St and even Oliver Plunkett St (though this is a disappointment overall I feel though the rapidly changing tenants are improving it). The upgrading of the Grand Parade and its surrounds described above is further enhancing the feel of the city I think. Any news viz the Kino and Mannix would be appreciated though.
Actually, I think Oliver Plunkett St. has improved enormously already. One of the best moves the council has made was to pedestrianise the street. Good to see some businesses appearing and others getting a facelift at the Lower end of the street – such as the Market Lane in the old Aoife Landers (very nice renovation done inside) and the very tasteful redo of Milanos. When the Beasley St. hotel opens, it can only add to this.
There were various rumours about the Bodega (silent partners objecting to its use as a store) etc, but who knows what the truth is. It is still open late as a nightclub, I believe. Pity, one of the best in Cork, and offered something substantially new and different when it opened.
Washington St. still looks very poor, with not just Mannix’s but several buildings in very poor repair.
I just noticed today the building on Tuckey St. nearest the entrance to Bishop Lucey Park is receiving its first paint job – it could be quite nice if they do a good job accentuating the detail.
Browser, I can’t say that I’m eager to see bars and restaurants overflowing onto the new Grand Parade too much. Soho’s intervention near the corner with Washington Street has reduced the space for pedestrain movement. What’s the point in having a footpath if it can’t be used? Something that bugs me greatly is the abuse of restaurant/bar owners of French Church Street and Paul Street. It is getting harder and harder to get through there, weaving your way through smokers.
On the positive side, Oliver Plunkett Street has boomed with pedestrianisation and the sooner Patrick Street, Grand parade are pedestrianised the better. The problem with the Grand Parade works at the moment is the seeming inablity of the contractors to ‘finish off’ bits and pieces. While most of the work is confined to the area around the national monument, there are bollards and sundry rubbish and construction equipment stretching from singers corner southward. It gives the impression that it’s much less finished than it actually is and the place is looking filthy at the moment.
I was on St. Patrick Street on Saturday. Good to see the place being overtaken by the people instead of cars and it being used for the Ceili mor. I have to say though, the amount of vacant retail units is alarming. I won;t list them again, its already been done here. But there seems to be something seriously wrong, even given the units we know are about to be redeveloped. When Cornmarket and Academy Street open, I cant see the situation improving, as more upmarket stores currently squeezed on Patrick Street will move to the shopping centres and leave yet more vacant or under utilised units on the main thoroughfare.Note:
Coopers bar and the Pav (?) nightclub on Carey’s lane has changed hands and is rumoured to become a live music venue. Coopers Bar has a blank wall on upper storeys facing on to Carey’s Lane across from the (soon to be restored) Hugenot cemetery. It would be nice to see the upper floors here being refurbished with views across the lane to the cemetery.I can’t see how the pedestrianisation of Patrick Street will help the stores’ fortunes there – it just makes it easier to drive to Wilton/Blackpool/Mahon Point etc. and walk from the carpark (or run, if it’s raining); rather than go to the city centre and have to park several streets away.
(This has nothing to do with the fact that I work on the South Mall and worry about it becoming the new Pana with convoys of souped up Micras tearing down the street… 😉 )
On a slightly different topic:
Can anyone tell me how many Protected Structures listed on the City Development Plan are located on Pope’s Quay?
and
How many structures on Pope’s Quay are listed on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage?
Radioactiveman wrote:I’ve got to mention this one as an example of what some developers think they can get away with. An application is with CCC at the moment for permission to knock the former Language institute building on North Abbey Street and replace it with a new building.
Now, a lot of people probably don’t know where the street is, never mind the building! North abbey street is the small lane running west from O’Connors Funeral Home at the bottom of Shandon Street. And the building is at the end of this street, at the junction with the side street running off the North Mall.
It really is a fine victorian building. Its a pity it is in such a cramped position in there and can’t be seen as well as it should. I include the drawings of the present building (dont have an photo) and the proposed piece of rubbish. If CCC have any sense, they won]Gone to further information 🙁 shudder!!
@who_me wrote:
If any area in Cork is primed for development, this is it. With Shandon, the Butter Museum, and the (greatly under-used, IMO) Firkin Crane all in close proximity in a small square, served by several old laneways, this area is greatly wasted at the moment.
I don’t know, it seems pretty lived in to me. I think there is something very unique about this part of the city and would be hesitant to do anything too drastic to it. I suppose I am just not sure that ‘primed for development’ is the right term, as I think I know what you are getting at in terms of maintaining what is there yet ensuring its future viability at the same time.
Fair enough, perhaps not the most apt choice of words on my part.
I do however think it’s an interesting and charming part of the city which even many people who’ve lived here for years haven’t seen. As with anything though, it’s difficult to do much to attract people to it, without destroying the character which made it interesting in the first place.
@who_me wrote:
As with anything though, it’s difficult to do much to attract people to it, without destroying the character which made it interesting in the first place.
A very good point. Temple Bar in Dublin being an example that comes to mind.
I can’t believe the vision that some people have for the cities of Ireland. Some day, the entire country will be a patchwork intricately planned and badly executed redevelopment schemes. Why anybody thinks that Grand Parade and Patrick Street are anything other than abject failures is beyond me. The paving stones are absolutely revolting, and the idiotic pieces of street furniture make the place look like a whore who’s been all gussied up by a retard. Oliver Plunkett Street is similarly revolting; especially given the incomprehensible presence of those silver and neon bollard things. The whole street should have been properly pedestrianized with either Grafton Street style red paving, or golden paving stones like the ones recently installed in Bedford Row in Limerick. What is there now looks cheap and tatty.
I happen to think that the two most interesting features of Washington Street are the Kino and Mannix. They both look kind of out-there and spontaneous in an otherwise awfully drab street. If anything should be demolished it’s all those 19th buildings that look like warehouses. When I refer to Mannix, I particularly refer to the way you can see the outline of the stairs on the building next to it. It’s so completely surreal right in the middle of a city that it looks like a work of art. I think it should stay, just so that Cork has at least one thing that isn’t totally middle of the road blandness.
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