€200m expansion planned for 'Mahon 2.0' as premier Munster shopping centre proposes mixed uses and more shops for next 20 years

Irish Examiner

3 days ago

A MAJOR €200m mixed-use investment in Munster's largest retail complex, Mahon Point in Cork City, is planned as the centre marks its 20th anniversary this year.
Proposed for what's being dubbed 'Mahon 2.0', is a significant investment to include 251 apartments, an office block for up to 580 workers, a new civic plaza/market square for gatherings such as the weekly farmers markets, a multi-storey car park, a discount retailer, and eight to 10 additional 'bigger box' shops — including a very large unit to suit a major retailer such as Decathlon, which has been scouting a Cork location.
Mahon 2.0 with bigger box retail and civic plaza upgrades for meeting, weekly farmers market etc
Planning permission is being sought this week for a phased development — and shift towards more mixed uses — to secure the centre's position over the next two decades by Mahon Point's owner Deka Immobilien, via Henry J Lyons' architects in Dublin and Cork.
If approved, it will add around 13,000sq m/140,000sq ft additional 'demand-led' retail space, on top of the existing 350,000sq ft gross footprint at Mahon Point, plus existing 45,000sq ft Omniplex. The centre is separate to Mahon Park Retail Park, which trades nearby.
250 apartments planned, plus 70,000 sq ft of offices
Deka acquired the 60-unit shopping centre with cinema and restaurants from Irish developer Owen O'Callaghan back in 2005 and now have €1.5bn in Irish assets. When Mahon 2.0 is fully developed, it will have a value close to €500m in its own right, said Peter O'Meara, director of Savills Cork, who has been involved in tenanting the centre for its first 20 years.
'It's the country's premier centre outside of the M50, and it will continue to be,' he said, adding it is 99% let since the large Debenhams two-storey box vacancy was taken by Frasers/Sports Direct, and if planning is secured, all of the new units proposed 'will be fully let from the start'.
Mahon 2.0 plans mixed uses
'Cork is emerging as an international centre of scale, with a projected population growth of 50-60% by 2040.
'With strong demand across residential and retail sectors, this development answers the call for high-quality, integrated spaces that serve both current and future generations,' he said, adding that the proposed mixed use expansion aligns with the national planning framework 2040 and Cork City development plan 2022-2028.
Also in the medium/longer term planning horizon is the ambitious cross-city Cork Luas line, due to have its eastern-end terminus right at the edge of Mahon Point if delivered as per plans announced this year.
File image from the Feb 2005 opening of Mahon Point, then valued at €230 million, with Brigitte Steinmetz, DEKA Immobilien and Owen O'Callaghan.
Currently, Mahon is relatively car dependent with 2,000 parking spaces, the reordering of which will see retail units built on current surface level parking as well as a multi-storey replacement that will add just 125 more parking spaces than are currently provided.
Bus Connects has in the recent past already stepped up to 100 bus movements daily in Mahon, with a 24/7 service in the offing. At present, it's reckoned that 20% of Mahon Point's footfall comes from local/public transport and further integrated transport upgrades are anticipated in light rail, bus, cycle supports and hub, underpass etc.
In advance of this week's proposed expansion announcement, pre-planning meetings have taken place with City Hall, as well as briefings with the Cork Business Association and Chamber of Commerce, and senior politicians.
A first public information event on the proposed Mahon 2.0 development takes place on July 8, at the centre's community room.
Blast from the past: then City Manager, Joe Gavin, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, 2004 Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr. Colm Burke, Minister Micheal Martin and Owen O'Callaghan of O'Callaghan Properties Ltd. at Mahon Community Centre in 2004 to talk about plans for the Mahon Point development.
Notable about the planned Mahon 2.0 is the mixed use, to include almost 70,000sq ft of offices with 40 parking spaces at Mahon Point (adding to c 500,000sq ft of offices nearby at City Gate and City Gate Plaza, National Software Centre, etc) and 250 apartments (with 84 parking spaces), with a tenure type yet to be decided.
Mahon Point centre director Justin Young said: 'for the last 20 years, Mahon Point Shopping Centre has been the heart and meeting place for Mahon's community and the wider region. We are excited to present Mahon Point 2.0, a demand-led expansion that enhances Mahon for everyone and looks forward to the next 20 years.
'By placing homes, sustainable transport, and civic amenities at the core of this vision, we hope to create a new chapter in Cork's growth that reflects community values as much as economic ambition.'
Deka Immobilien asset manager Hendrik Höppner said: 'we remain deeply committed to Cork and Ireland for the long term. This project reflects our belief in Mahon's potential as a leading urban centre, combining quality of life, economic opportunity, and sustainable planning.'
Deka has only sold on one Irish investment in the past 20 years since starting off with Mahon Point in '05, deciding to sell the Tommy Hilfiger store on Dublin's Grafton Street in 2015, notes Savills' director Peter O'Meara.