Stop! Local Time! - A quick recap of major construction projects in Cork

Yeah yeah, I know, I know. Having a look around Cork, it is hard to believe that anything is being built. The Roads are full of potholes, paint is flaking of the facades, the old port is slowly but surely dying, the silos there are being torn down, and some of the prime developments in the city are still almost empty. Hell, it has gotten to the point where the opening of a new Lidl store in the city centre of Irelands second city has become major news. 

To be fair, the economic collapse after the end of the Celtic Tiger years has left this city reeling, and stopped many projects dead in their tracks, including the planned development of a light rail network, or even adequate flood protection for the city centre. Any funds that were available were poured into the capital, Dublin, leaving Cork hanging in mid-air. However, over the last year or so, things have started moving again, though the start has been somewhat problematic. I'd like to illustrate some of these developments in this article.

Event/Convention Centre

It seems incredible for a city of this size and prominence, but there is currently no facility for large conventions, concerts, trade fairs, etc. in Cork. True, there is a number of hotels with decent sized function rooms, etc., and of course there is the Cork Opera House, and the GAA grounds at Páirc uí Chaoimh for open air concerts, as the Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen, demonstrated during his Wrecking Ball Tour 2013. However, the capacity of the Opera House is limited, while the state of Páirc uí Chaoimh leaves a lot to be desired. So, there has been a lot of clamouring to get the funding for such a project approved. And lo and behold, the government has actually set aside money for such a project, 10 million Euros to kickstart the development, to be exec  with another 6 million Euro coming from Cork City Council. Though that is still well below the actual cost of building such a centre, it has made the deal a lot sweeter for the property developers, who will bear most of the cost, but will also profit from it. As of the publication of this article, two projects are still in the race, and a decision on which project gets the official go-ahead, and the funding, will be made early this summer. 

Brewery Quarter / Old Beamish & Crawford site

This is literally smack dab right in the heart of the city. The area between the South Main Street and the South Channel of the River Lee had for centuries been the home of the Beamish & Crawford Brewery, before it was finally taken over by main rivals Heineken in 2008. Production was subsequently transferred to Heineken's operation at the Lady's Well Brewery north of the city centre, and incidentally just down the road from my apartment, in 2009, leaving the old site with its distinct Tudor Revival style administration building unused and vacant.

Recently, a consortium made up of Building Contracting Firm BAM and the Heineken Brewery Group has proposed the construction of an Event Centre, as well as Retail, Office, and hospitality developments and a visitor's centre. The scope of the project, which is deemed to cost 150 million Euros overall, can be seen in the video below:

With the marketing power of Heineken at their disposal, the PR machine for the Brewery Quarter Project has certainly gone into overdrive over the last months, with a website being set up to back the project, which can be reached here. It is also the most clearly defined project, with detailed renderings, and a clear concept of what is to come. Furthermore, it has already received planning permission, which means that most of the red tape is already out of the way.
Personally, my mind is split on that project. On one hand, any major investment project in that location will certainly have positive knock-on effects on the lower end of Grand Parade, Bishop Lucey Park, and Tuckey Street. And boy, do they need it, that area has consistently been going downhill over the last year and a half. It is also good to see that BAM/Heineken aren't just building an event centre, but are also planning a host of other projects, ensuring that the site is utilised in the downtime between events. Furthermore, it appears from the renderings that part of the old brewery complex, and of course the Counting House will be integrated into the project, which will add a nice touch of history to it. 
On the other hand, traffic is going to be even more of a nightmare than it is now, especially now that Elizabeth Fort on the other side of the Lee will finally be opened to the public as well. The entire area is part of the oldest area of Cork, and is only accessible by a small number of narrow roads. Furthermore, I haven't seen any mention of parking facilities with regards to the project, and the only nearby public car park is a single level open air affair. In a city with a dismal public transport network like Cork, this is a major drawback. Still, I am nowhere near as opposed to it as I was a couple of weeks ago. Cork would certainly not suffer if this project went ahead.

Albert Quay Events Centre / Docklands

Cork has always been a port city, and historically, that port extended all the way to current day Emmet Place and the Grand Parade. More recently, shipping activity concentrated along Horgan's Wharf, Customs House Quay, Albert Quay and Kennedy Quay. However, with ships getting bitter and needing deeper berths, port activities have lately begun to concentrate around the Lower Harbour at Cobh, Ringaskiddy and Whitegate. Smaller coastal freighters, fishing trawlers, and the occasional cruise ship still call at the city docks, but apart from that and a few visiting warships every now and then, the area is pretty much dead. There were plans drawn up by Architecture firm Scott Tallon Walker for a London Docklands style redevelopment as the "Atlantic Quarter", however, those fell flat when the economic downturn hit Ireland with all the subtlety of a tactical nuke. The Docklands habe slowly been going downhill ever since.

This may be about to change. Real Estate company O'Callaghan Properties has teamed up with architecture firm Henry J Lyons Architects to build a  6000 seat multipurpose arena/events centre On Albert Quay, right on the edge of the docklands. Unlike the plan for the Beamish site, the Albert Quay Convention Centre will be a standalone facility, lacking the ancillary hotel, office, retail, and gastronomical developments of the BAM/Heineken project. That would also mean that the price tag is quite a bit lower, at just 50 million Euro. Furthermore, O'Callaghan Properties, while by no means a small company, is not really in a position to compete with the Heineken propaganda machine. Still, they have been able to produce a video of the project themselves, though it is much more simplistic.

My take on this? Once again, I'm split. Cork does need a boost for the docks along the River Lee, and getting an events centre built is certainly a good choice for that. The fact that there are no extra buildings going up along with the Albert Quay arena means that any investors in this project will have to provide significantly less funding than for the phased project on the Beamish site. This also negates any dangers of the project remaining half-finished while tenants are needed for some of the ancillary buildings, which is a real danger I see in relation to the BAM/Heineken project. 
What worries me is the surrounding area of the project site. Much of the area, while not exactly dodgy, certainly has seen better times. The nearby grain elevators are just about unused now, and paint is flaking off. Then there is the thing about ancillary infrastructure. With the Albert Quay site, you have the Sextant, a nice little pub, right next door, and that's about it. The next restaurants or retail facilities will either be on Lapp's Quay across the bridge, or in the Elysian, whose retail space still stands empty, except for a planned Aldi, which is kind of ironic for such a high value development.
Additionally, the parking issue rears its ugly head again. Like the Beamish proposal, there is no apparent mentioning of parking facilities for this project. This is all the more worrying since the nearest public car parks at the Lapp's Quay development and the Merchant's Quay Shopping Centre are a sizeable distance away, and pretty much full to capacity at the best of times. I don't really want to know how the parking situation would be in case of a full size event with 6000 spectators. On the plus side, the site is right on the N27, the Southern Link Road. That means that any visitors can come in via the Southern Ring Road, or the M8 and the Jack Lynch Tunnel without having to make their way through the already congested city centre.

There was a third project underway for an events centre on Centre Park Road near Páirc uí Chaoimh and Marina Park, on the eastern end of the Docklands. The facility, which would have formed part of the Atlantic Quarter development, was planned to house 6000 spectators like the other two projects as well. However, when the Irish economy collapsed in 2008, it took these high flying plans with it. Howard Holdings, the company responsible for the planning of the centre, was taken over by NAMA (National Asset Management Agency), Ireland's "Bad Bank, and subsequently wound down, with the head of that company fleeing the country. While the planning permission for this project is still valid, it is safe to say that it will never see the light of day.

Albert Quay Office Development

For several years, the Elysian, the highest building in Ireland at a modest 71 metres, has looked a bit out of place, overlooking a series of old warehouses and sheds on Albert Quay that had stood there since being built as the terminus of the Cork Bandon & South Coast Railway in the late 19th century. While the area on the north bank of the Lee had been completely reshaped by the Lapps Quay development including the Clarion Hotel, the South Bank continued, and continues until this day, to exude an air of decay.

That is about to change. The site at Albert Quay has been chosen as the location for the first new office development in the city since the begin of the economic crisis. A Consortium of John Clery Developments (JCD) and BAM Contractors (Yep, the same guys that are behind the Brewery Quarter) have received planning permission for a large nine story mixed use office and retail building on the site between Albert Street (N27) and the IDA Webworks facility on parallel Eglinton Street. Once the building gets the go-ahead, it will certainly make for an interesting ensemble with the Elysian, IDA Webworks, and the Lapp's Quay Development.

However, things aren't quite as straightforward as the project developers might hope. Over the last two weeks, reports have surfaced that several objections against the new building have been raised with An Bord Pleanála, the Irish Planning Appeals Board. The most interesting one comes from a certain Michael O'Flynn. He's the man responsible for the Elysian Development, and fears that the new building would negatively impact his own project, which of course still stands mostly empty as far as retail and office use is concerned. It is worth noting that O'Flynn's company was taken over by NAMA when it floundered during the economic crisis. Basically, this means that a failed developer propped up by taxpayers money is trying to stop a project that would bring in significant revenue for the city and the state. It seems that some people just don't know when to STFU. 
Two other parties have also raised objections to the project. From what I've heard, the hearing at An Bord Pleanála will take place in July. I do hope that the objections will be summarily thrown out, as this project is simply too important for the rekindling of the city of Cork as a business centre to be sacrificed to a failed developer's overinflated ego.

New Station Entrance, Kent Station

It seems totally incredible to anyone coming to Cork for the first time, but this city used to sport the densest network of urban and suburban railways and tramways in Ireland. Railway Infrastructure used to be better than in Dublin, and even better than in some cities in Great Britain. At one time, there were eight railway station within the city alone, not counting the tram lines that ran through the city centre. Nowadays, the only operational remnant of this is Kent Station. This modest five platform facility serves as the modern hub for rail travel in Cork. It is the terminus for Irish Rail's trunk line to Dublin Heuston Station, as well as for intercity services from Tralee. It also serves a modest commuter network with lines to Mallow, Midleton, and Cobh. 

While the station itself is in quite a good condition, accessibility is a different matter altogether. So far, the only access from the city centre is via the Glanmire Road, which gave the station its original name. That again means walking along a busy three lane road and crossing several rather confusing intersections, as well as a sizeable detour. Not at all an ideal situation when you're heading to work in the morning, clutching your umbrella while trying not to spill that coffee to go you grabbed at the station. Oh, and there's also the fact that the Lower Glanmire Road is one way only, which certainly doesn't help.

It seems that officials in the Department of Transport have heard this as well, as they have appropriated 2.9 million Euros to alleviate the situation. Iarnród Éireann, the operators of Kent Station, have already applied for planning permission for a completely new access to the station from Horgan's Quay. The plan will include a new entrance building, as well as a completely new access road with dedicated bus stops and a car park with 140 spaces to help ease the chronic congestion of the parking facilities at the station.

As you can see from the plans above, the new entrance will connect to an existing underpass that is currently used to access platform 5 of the station. The building, which will be an aluminium and glass construction, will also house stairs and elevators as well as ticket machines and barriers that are prepared for the new contact-less Leap cards that are already in use in Dublin. The plans all seem pretty straightforward, I only have one question: Why did the architect use a German ICE3 (Class 403) EMU to stand in for an Irish Rail Train?

The picture above shows how the whole thing will look when completed. While I admit that the design may not be to everyone's taste, it will certainly make access to the station easier. And, lets be honest here, any step that increases public transport usage and makes it more convenient needs to be applauded and encouraged. Construction is planned to kick off this summer. I do hope that this project is carried through to fruition. The next step should then be the reactivation of the old railway line to Youghal, but that is a different topic altogether. 

It is certainly good to see things beginning to move forward again here in Cork. The years of the recession have been hard on the city, that is evident at almost every corner and believe me, there are a lot of corners around here. Still, one should not assume that the new office block and event centre will magically solve all problems, as a lot of the issues are systemic in nature. Council Rates are far too high, which is one of the reasons why Patrick Street seems to die a little more each passing day. Furthermore, there seems to be no will by Cork City Council to tackle the worsening conditions of the roads within the city centre, or indeed the special pavement used for Grand Parade and Patrick Street. It is clear that something needs to change there as well to ensure that the future for Cork looks brighter again.