ongarboy wrote: » http://www.irishtimes.com/business/commercial-property/waterford-city-shopping-development-gets-green-light-1.2985311 More from today's Irish Times. Regarding the inspectors observation that there were lots of existing units vacant the n Waterford, that makes no difference if they are not fit for purpose for modern retailing. There may be a misinterpretation here. From what BBM77 says the comment about "lots of vacant units in Waterford" came from the person who made the appeal and not the Bord Pleanala inspector. That is also my understanding.
• The site is unsuitable for development due to its location close to several protected structures including the city wall and tower. Waterford city has a poor track record of preserving its heritage.
The Viking Triangle in Waterford has been named "Great Place" winner at the 2017 Urbanism Awards in London. The Waterford City spot beat off competition from Greenwich Market in London and Leicester Market. The awards aim to recognise the best, most enduring or most improved cities, towns, streets and places. They are voted on by leading architects, planners and developers in Ireland and the UK. The assessors noted that Viking Triangle is more than a traditional physical regeneration initiative and has enhanced the quality of life and competitiveness of local business.
Harry Palmr wrote: » http://www.wlrfm.com/news/local/88437-waterford-s-viking-triangle-wins-the-great-place-award.html While it's true that one can always do better, I think the City has done pretty well in this regard, the walls and various structures are all still standing and shall remain so.
JohnC. wrote: » Aren't vacant units in the city centre really just small ones? Ones that major retailers missing from the city wouldn't be interested in. Like how it's taking a pretty big rejig of City Square to create a unit for H&M (if rumours are true) to move in.
fricatus wrote: » The Irish Times business section over the weekend referred to this development in a short piece about job creation around the country, and mentioned that 480 jobs would be created during construction. I know now that An Bord Pleanála has approved it, there are no further planning obstacles. However what has to happen next? I presume a developer needs to come up with the finance and then construction can start. How likely is funding for this though? Rightly or wrongly, any investor could point to vacant units about the place (plus the Ferrybank shopping centre) and simply on the basis of the numbers, decide that it's not a runner. Is there money out there now looking for a home in provincial Irish property?
fricatus wrote: » You're right, but I'm looking at this from the standpoint of investors in places like London wondering whether to invest their money in York, Inverness, Cardiff, St Albans, etc., and who wouldn't be able to point to Waterford on a map. Surely when they're running the rule over the figures, they'd just be looking at a report saying that we've X sq ft of vacant space here for a population of 50,000 10 minutes drivetime and 250,000 45 minutes drivetime. Then they go "no, we'll put our money in St Albans because there are a million people within 45 minutes of the place and half the vacant space of that place in Southern Ireland, what was it called again?". That's the sort of thing I'm wondering about, since these guys only care about yield, and how likely they are to get their money back. I just have the feeling that it's not an attractive investment for the big money, despite the fact that we all know and understand the factors locally why it would more than likely be quite a success.
Harry Palmr wrote: » Any word on Marks and Sparks?
Deiseen wrote: » A guy from City Square (think he manages the centre) was on WLR, he said M and S are looking for really large outlets none of which we have in Waterford or will have, even with the new developments.
Harry Palmr wrote: » The roof is going up.
Harry Palmr wrote: » No, just mentioned on the Waterford Today website. Maybe someone down there can take a snap for us.
mooseknunkle wrote: » Harry Palmr wrote: » No, just mentioned on the Waterford Today website. Maybe someone down there can take a snap for us. They started that on Monday and its been closed to traffic all week,plenty of photos and videos on social media.
Deiseen wrote: » What page? Nothing on Twitter and only the one video from a few days ago on Waterford Today
erica74 wrote: » Does anyone know if the council are providing any photos of the progress as it moves along? Because you can't drive up there anymore, I hadn't even realised they paving had been done. It would be great to show off how they're progressing and keep people interested in what's going on and ultimately the end goal.
