New Shopping Centre....

road_high

Is this building still lying idle??

Kimbot

mfitzy wrote: »

Is this building still lying idle??

Yes.

JupiterKid

mfitzy wrote: »

Is this building still lying idle??

It's a symbol of the total and utter folly and madness of the property bubble and will remind Longford for years to come just how dangerously dependent the town and county became in having all its eggs in the construction basket.

midland muck

I see in this weeks longford Leader that their are plans to renovate the existing town shopping centre and construct a new facilty on the edge of town. See link http://www.longfordleader.ie/news/70m-shopping-plan-for-Longford.5810732.jp Does anyone else find this plan to be optimistic in the exreme in light of the difficulties the already constructed McNamara Centre has in finding retail tennants??

kerash

midland muck wrote: »

I see in this weeks longford Leader that their are plans to renovate the existing town shopping centre and construct a new facilty on the edge of town. See link http://www.longfordleader.ie/news/70m-shopping-plan-for-Longford.5810732.jp Does anyone else find this plan to be optimistic in the exreme in light of the difficulties the already constructed McNamara Centre has in finding retail tennants??

It sounds fabulous alright but I be surprised if it happened in light of the other shopping centre remaining idle.
I'd not be surprised at tesco moving out though.

It is believed that the two largest units in this centre would be occupied by two well-known chainstores, one of which would be providing supermarket 'trolley' shopping.

if tesco are moving out who will be the the large unit holders?

Twinned with this planning application is a proposal for the development of a 10,996 sq ft retail store at the Ballinalee Road roundabout, geared for weekly and bulky goods shopping.

It has been widely speculated that Tesco would occupy this proposed development but the promoters refused to be drawn on this issue.

cherryghost

jesus christ WHY? we dont need it.

garfieldsghost

The article doesn't go into specifics, so it's hard to envisage exactly just what the developers have planned. However, when you consider that the Longford Town Centre has been mothballed due to lack of interest from retailers and also look at the Longford Centre in it's current form (with a number of long-term tenants closing/relocating), then it's hard to see how they're going to find occupiers for all these new retail units unless they can magically pluck them out of thin air. :rolleyes:

Am I right in thinking that when they mention a site at the "Ballinalee roundabout" that they're referring to the Triad/Barber site?

bugs

garfieldsghost wrote: »

Am I right in thinking that when they mention a site at the "Ballinalee roundabout" that they're referring to the Triad/Barber site?

Doubt it, traffic would be insane. I'd assume somewhere closer to the abbott plant (the roundabout) would make more sense.

orbital83

It sounds fabulous alright but I be surprised if it happened in light of the other shopping centre remaining idle.
I'd not be surprised at tesco moving out though.

Visit the UK for some good examples of dead town centres which is what we should see before long here if this sort of planning is alllowed to proceed.

March 2010
Work commenced today on Phase 1 of a development which will revolutionise our shopping experience. This phase consists of a large shopping outlet with filling station and ample parking located on the outskirts of the town. The next phase will involve redevelopment of the existing Shopping Centre site which will offer a range of new high street stores and boutique outlets.

July 2010
Tesco have completed their move to a new retail outlet complete with filling station and free parking. However town centre traders have expressed concern about the impact on their businesses. All hope now rests on Phase 2 of the plan to revitalise the retail experience which focuses on redevelopment of the existing Shopping Centre site.

September 2010
Plans for redevelopment of the town's Shopping Centre has been scrapped. The economic climate and an existing oversupply of commercial property in the town centre have been cited as the main reasons. This will amplify the fears of town centre businesses which have seen trade fall off sharply since the town centre Tesco outlet became vacant a few months ago. Several other units in the Shopping Centre have since closed with the possibility it will soon be totally vacant leaving the town with two abandoned shopping centres. Local traders have pinpointed the decision of the Town Council to introduce paid parking in the shopping centre car park as the main reason for the death of town centre retail.

lt_cmdr_worf

Above prediction is not far off, John. I see the same thing happening in Athlone.

Visit the Texas Centre in Athlone for an example of an abandoned shopping centre. And with vacant retail units around it.

The new ATC is a dead fish. Shanique, Vanilla Garden, Barratts and Premaman pulled out this year, and HMV do not want to touch it. There is hardly anyone there, even on a busy Friday.

garfieldsghost

The empty units around Aldi are another prime example of a failed "retail development"...

bridgitt

John J wrote: »

Visit the UK for some good examples of dead town centres which is what we should see before long here if this sort of planning is alllowed to proceed.

March 2010
Work commenced today on Phase 1 of a development which will revolutionise our shopping experience. This phase consists of a large shopping outlet with filling station and ample parking located on the outskirts of the town. The next phase will involve redevelopment of the existing Shopping Centre site which will offer a range of new high street stores and boutique outlets.

July 2010
Tesco have completed their move to a new retail outlet complete with filling station and free parking. However town centre traders have expressed concern about the impact on their businesses. All hope now rests on Phase 2 of the plan to revitalise the retail experience which focuses on redevelopment of the existing Shopping Centre site.

September 2010
Plans for redevelopment of the town's Shopping Centre has been scrapped. The economic climate and an existing oversupply of commercial property in the town centre have been cited as the main reasons. This will amplify the fears of town centre businesses which have seen trade fall off sharply since the town centre Tesco outlet became vacant a few months ago. Several other units in the Shopping Centre have since closed with the possibility it will soon be totally vacant leaving the town with two abandoned shopping centres. Local traders have pinpointed the decision of the Town Council to introduce paid parking in the shopping centre car park as the main reason for the death of town centre retail.

Correct, in other countries they have learnt that town should expand from the centre outwards.

mink_man

its a kip!

blackbetty69

its a shambles bill