Opportunity knocks
Published: 10 November, 2006
In any industry, enthusiasm for the project, profession and the dream is crucial. Even more so is determination, patience and endurance. And these are certainly qualities developer Suneil Sharma has plenty of. Although, this comes as no surprise since he and his business partner Sam Morrison are in the process of investing a staggering ?250m into the heart of Limerick.
For Sharma and his team there is an added quality required too, which he believes is key to the creative process currently in motion for the development of the Opera Centre in Limerick.
"You have to have passion for the city to make something like this work and also the vision to put that passion to work," he says.
This passion and vision has now elevated the 350,000 sq ft Opera Centre to the forefront of the modern-day regeneration of Limerick - often known as Ireland's forgotten city.
"This is a four-year regeneration project," says Sharma. "We're trying to create one of the biggest retail developments in the west.
"This is a city that needs a boost and we believe that this is a destination for people to visit and shop in the future."
But what made a Northern Ireland-based developer accept an invitation to look at the site from a west of Ireland businessman?
"Gary [McDowell] and I had been involved in a project in Limerick a number of years ago. As a consequence of that, we met Pat Kearney, who introduced us to this opportunity, and we have been working on it non-stop with him.
"We are now at a point where we have fully acquired the site. We have it in for planning, we expect a planning decision on October 26 and then move on to phase two, which is the commercial side of it.
"Once we have planning, we will begin demolition and securing the site around March of next year. There will then be a lead in time after that where we are hoping to secure our anchor tenants and attract tenants from all round Europe, the UK and the rest of Ireland," explains Sharma.
Not only will the Opera Centre dwarf Limerick's other shopping centres, it will see footfall into the main shopping area of the city rise in excess of 100,000 per week.
Creating nearly 2,000 jobs throughout its construction period, once opened, Sharma believes the project will be "a catalyst" for future investment in Limerick city.
"You really don't see things on your own doorstep; certainly, Gary McDowell and I immediately saw the potential of Limerick when we walked into it - it's a city currently below par. There was a great opportunity and it maybe took someone from outside to see it."
The overall company, Regeneration Developments, is working to a very adventurous but, in Sharma's opinion, achievable goal. He believes their positivity for the project and the finished shopping centre, which they hope will open in autumn 2008, will do more for Limerick than simply provide a few new shops.
"What will happen around the Opera Centre is people will have confidence in the city. It's where they will begin to invest and as a result, Limerick will attract people from all over, drawing in more tourism and shoppers, and we believe there will be a notable increase of these. Although a lot of people come into Shannon airport, many don't stay in Limerick - hopefully, the Opera Centre will give them a reason.
"There is also a building that comprises part of the site, which is the Catherine Hayes Building - she was a world-famous opera singer and that's where she lived. We are refurbishing it and then giving it back to the Limerick City Trust.
"By doing this, we are mixing tourism, culture, retailing and history, and we hope that it will increase the footfall into the nearby Hunt Museum by fivefold."
And so far the response from the locals has been just as positive.
"We got city officials involved in the project from a very early stage and we've kept them fully briefed on all the matters that have arisen and they have helped us, and indentified where they can help," says Sharma.
But with just one opposer the scheme has suffered a four month setback while awaiting planning permission. However, Sharma feels that this is just a temporary setback and hopes the issues will be resolved in the coming months.
"We have only had one person appeal the planning application and we don't honestly know why. It's been a tough journey but we're almost there and nothing's ever easy. We would have been over the moon to get it through without the appeal but that's business and we'll move on."
Part of the reason behind the successful development of the Opera Centre has been the relationship between Sharma and his friend and right-hand man Gary McDowell, owner of his Belfast-based self-named chartered valuation surveyors and estate agents.
"We have known each other for over 20 years now and Gary's wife has even suggested he talks to me more often than her, and my son, who's six, is always talking about Gary, Gary, Gary," says Sharma.
"We were involved in our first project together and this is just a natural extension. Gary's work is very highly regarded and we've done comparisons to back that up.
"Also important is my business partner whose role is critical. Sam Morrison is one of the premier leading developers in the north, he has interests in the north and the rest of Great Britain and brings a lot of experience to the project.
"While Gary and I have been working on the ground, Sam's been in the background and very supportive throughout. He's a huge developer in the province but I bring something very different, in terms of groundwork and my experience. It really is a team effort at this stage; Sam is involved with a lot of commercial issues and comes into his own there."
Forging loyal partnerships and teaming up with the best in the business was also important for Sharma in order to ensure the Opera Centre dream comes to life in two years' time. "The quality of the team we have involved is second to none. Lafferty Design, the project managers, are fantastic in terms of being able to deliver on time and within budget. We aimed to pick the best throughout Ireland and we have architects from the north, people with offices in Belfast and Limerick," he says.
With ?250m at stake, it's no wonder Sharma is demanding only the best and while it's still very much in embryonic stages, he's already considering other potential projects.
"Working on the Opera Centre has definitely motivated us to look all over the place. To actually begin delivery is quite an achievement by any property developer's standards. There were 45 interests involved and getting them all to agree was incredibly important. We will definitely be reviewing other projects down the line."
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=== The Opera Centre - Who's involved? ===
? Regeneration Development, Belfast - developers Suneil Sharma and Sam Morrison
? Lafferty Design, Dublin - project managers
? Ostick & Williams, Belfast - architects
? Ferguson Wheeler, Belfast - architectural interior designers
? Gary McDowell, Belfast - chartered valuation surveyors and estate agents
? Hamilton, Osborne & King, Limerick - letting agent
? CBRE, Dublin - letting agent
