Stillorgan finally gets OK
Published: 10 November, 2006
The Stillorgan shopping centre in south Dublin, owned by Treasury Holdings, finally received the go-ahead from An Bord Pleanala for a major E40m revamp. Three previous plans to redevelop the centre were rejected during the past 10 years, because of residents' objections.
Treasury is keen to carry out a total makeover of the centre as its trade has fallen by about 15 per cent following the opening of the Dundrum Town Centre a year ago.
The property development group bought the centre in 1996 for £38m, or just over E48m. When the centre opened in 1966, it was the first shopping centre in the Republic, but in the intervening 40 years, little has been done to update it.
Now, An Bord Pleanala has given Treasury permission to demolish nearly 7,000 sq m of the existing centre, refurbish nearly 9,300 sq m of retailing space and add an extra 32,113 sq m of space.
These plans will give the new-look centre a gross floor area of 41,391 sq m, which will include 18,046 sq m of retail space as well as 895 car-parking spaces. A total of 25 conditions have been attached to the planning approval.
But what's going to happen at the shopping centre is only part of what Treasury Holdings is planning for Stillorgan. Both the shopping centre and the nearby Blakes restaurant site are owned by Real Estate Opportunities (REO), in which the majority shareholder is Treasury Holdings. This same REO company also owns the Stillorgan Bowl and Leisureplex site directly across the road from the Stillorgan shopping centre.
Redevelopment for both the Blakes and the Bowl sites are seen as inevitable in the longer term, but before anything happens, the local area plan has to be finalised. It's being prepared by the local Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and is due to be finalised next April. Treasury Holdings has already produced its overall vision for the area in consultation with local residents.
