30-04-2025
New vision for Cork's Marina Market includes event centre and a 5-star hotel
Cork's hugely successful Marina Market could become a new cultural precinct, with an events centre, a covered street food market, a grand hall that opens out to the river, and a five-star hotel, under ambitious new design proposals.
Conceptual images published today, Wednesday, show how award-winning architects have drawn on the site's industrial history, and channelled the pioneering spirit of the Ford Motor Company and its architect Albert Kahn to reimagine a new future for the south docklands site.
'As a 'Factory for Fun', the development will offer a unique cultural mix for Corkonians and visitors alike,' the architects say.
The Marina Market team, which has been working for several months with London-based Níall McLaughlin Architects on their vision for the site, stressed that the images are conceptual.
They have also been working with AEG, one of the world's leading live entertainment and sports companies, on the proposal. AEG, which owns and operates some of the biggest arenas across Europe, including the O2 in London, the Accor in Paris, and the Barclay's Arena in Hamburg, has been liaising with the architects on the design proposal.
The proposed Marina Market project includes the continuation and expansion of the successful street food market, but enhancing its infrastructure, to include a spacious central market hall beneath a large canopy.
Marina Market said their design proposals demonstrate their ambition for and potential of the site off Centre Park Rd.
However, it is not yet clear if they will be able to engage in the new tendering process for the tens of millions of euro in State aid which is being made available by government to secure the delivery of an events centre in the city.
Níall McLaughlin Architects said Marina Market has become a shining example of successful urban regeneration, transforming a former industrial warehouse into a thriving hub of food, culture, and community, and highlighting the demand for vibrant, multifunctional spaces that bring people together. They said:
As Cork looks ahead to the next decade, the Marina Market stands as a model for how the south docks can evolve into a dynamic and inclusive urban quarter.
Their design shows how the site could be transformed into a vibrant cultural hub that unites a state-of-the-art event centre, the spirit of the successful Marina Market, a contemporary art gallery, and a 100-bed five-star hotel.
Young people taking part in The Big Busk for Focus Ireland in Cork's popular Marina Market last month. File picture: Alison Miles
The project includes the continuation and expansion of the already successful street food market, but enhancing its infrastructure, to include a spacious central market hall beneath a large, lightweight canopy creating a weather-protected space, with rows of market stalls lining the hall which opens out to the riverside, where a new pontoon could facilitate boat and small ferry access.
The Marina Market is adjacent to Kennedy Quay in Cork's south docklands. File picture: Larry Cummins
The event centre hall will be designed as a highly flexible, state-of-the-art venue with capacity for 4,000 to 5,000 people, to accommodate live music, theatre, comedy, community events, weddings, and conferences.
It will have a tiered upper level with fixed seating for enhanced viewing, with bars and amenities on both levels, and a dedicated VIP bar and meet-and-greet area on the upper floor. When not in use, the area will open out towards the food market area.
The architects stress that much more work is required before a planning application could be even considered.
Building well underway earlier this month at the office and residential development at Horgan's Quay in Cork City — just across the Lee from Kennedy Quay and the Marina Market. File picture: Larry Cummins
It comes ahead of a planned visit to the city's docklands on Friday by Taoiseach Micheál Martin and housing minister James Browne, which will include a visit to two major housing schemes being delivered by the Land Development Agency.
Some 302 new cost-rental apartments are being delivered on Horgan's Quay in partnership with HQ Developments, with 337 new homes being delivered at Marina Depot as part of a 1,178-unit development by Glenveagh Properties.
