Marks & Spencer has given its seal of approval to Chartered Land's plans to create a massive retail destination at Swords Pavilions in North Dublin, by inking a deal that will create its biggest store in Ireland at 14,000 sq m.
The new store will anchor the latest extension to the Pavilions, which will take the scheme close to 100,000 sq m. The centre currently attracts 10m visitors a year, and once the extra space comes on-stream this is expected to rise to 15m, allowing it to function as a full regional shopping destination to balance the array of centres to the south of the capital.
“We received planning permission for this expansion to Swords Pavilions in September,” explains Chartered Land chief executive Dominic Deeny. “The commitment of Marks & Spencer as our anchor department store is a significant milestone in our development plan and recognition that Swords has become the destination of choice among shoppers in North Dublin.”
Current tenants at Swords Pavilions include Zara, Tommy Hilfiger, H&M, Mango, Champion Sports, A-Wear, Dunnes Stores, HMV, Superquinn and Benetton. And according to Chartered Land's Sean Doyle the focus will now move on to leasing the MSUs with a view to securing funding over the next 12 months. “With a fair wind we'll be on site in 2011 and open in 2014,” he says.
Doyle says that one of the key factors that attracted M&S to Swords was the potential for massive population growth. “Swords' population is projected to grow from 40,000 to 100,000,” he explains. “Obviously that may take longer than previously thought, but the area is earmarked as the naturalr expansion area for Dublin.”
This view is confirmed by Jonathan Smith, head of Ireland for Marks & Spencer. “We've been looking at the location for some time and are delighted to have secured such a prime position,” he says. “This new M&S allows us to significantly strengthen our offer in the North Dublin region.
The accessibility of Swords pavilions is also going to be enhanced by a raft of infrastructure improvements, some already under way and others in the planning stage. The site is adjacent to the M1 and only three miles from the M50, and the extension will include the creation of a regional bus terminal. But by far the biggest improvement will be the construction of a new station at the centre for Metro North, the planned high capacity, high frequency transport system that will link Dublin city centre with the Airport and Swords.
