Dundalk Shopping Centre Redevelopment

not14talk

TESCO PLANS FOR GIANT NEW STORE IN DUNDALK

Published Date: 21 October 2009
By Gary McLaughlin
Tesco Ireland has unveiled plans for a new p25m superstore which will be located at the site of the current Dundalk Shopping Centre.
If ambitious plans go ahead, the shopping centre will be demolished to pave way for a new Tesco Extra superstore sometime next year.

The new development will see the construction of a new 10,136sqm two-storey building.

Under Dundalk Town Council's Urban Design Framework Plan, it will help turn the Ramparts Road into an urban boulevard and will create hundreds of jobs within the area, through construction and then full and part-time positions when the new superstore is open.

The ground floor will consist of three retail units, a surface level car park for 524 cars. The Tesco Superstore will occupy the first floor, incorporating a restaurant/cafe, an off-licence, internet cafe and more.

It is also thought that the cafe will create a landmark at the entrance to the Marshes character area.

As part of the application which is put forward by Joseph Doyle Architects, the proposal is there to re-design the current site and not attract retail away from the town centre

http://www.dundalkdemocrat.ie/dundalknews/TESCO-PLANS-FOR-GIANT-NEW.5750394.jp

Tesco plans take step forward

Wednesday October 21 2009
THE long heralded redevelopment of the Tesco store at the Dundalk Shopping Centre has moved a step forward after the company lodged a planning application for the demolition of the existing shopping centre and the building of a massive new store.

The application was lodged with Dundalk Town Council last week following a period of pre-planning discussions between the company and local authority planners.

The plans provide for the demolition of Dundalk Shopping Centre, which was one of the first shopping centres built in the 1970s, and for the disused petrol station.

In their place, Tesco plans to build a 2-storey 10,136sqm development incorporating three retail units and surface level parking for 542 cars on the ground floor, with a store selling food and non-food items, including off-licence sales area, restaurant/cafe, kitchen area, at second floor level.

'It's a major vote of confidence in Dundalk,' said a Tesco source, who confirmed that the company is set to begin work on the project once the planning process is completed.

The store will sell the complete range of Tesco groceries, homewares and clothes and will be similar to the supermarket which the company has opened in Drogheda recently.

Despite the flow of shoppers out of town enticed northwards by the weakening Sterling, the company is confident that its recent pricing campaign will make it attractive to Dundalk consumers.

'We had a great response to our 'Change for Good' initiative which saw us bringing in new lower prices.' ' We will be creating nearly 100 new jobs and this will be good for the local economy.'

The company currently employs between 250 and 300 workers in Dundalk and has no plans to close its store in the Long Walk Shopping Centre.

Access to the new development, which will front onto Dublin Street, will be by a junction on Stapleton Drive and a new 4-arm roundabout junction, while there will be alternations to the existing Stapleton Drive/Rampart Road junction, extending of and joining of Rampart road to the recently constructed Railway Road (Link Road) via a proposed traffic signal controlled junction and the 4-arm access roundabout junction.

And German discount giants Lidl are set to open their second supermarket in Dundalk when their new store off the Inner Relief Road close to St. Helena opens on Friday week.

http://www.argus.ie/news/tesco-plans-take-step-forward-1920495.html

Its seem they have scraped the idea of moving it closer to the Marshes Shopping Centre but does anyone else think its a bit too close to the road?

On the topic of the bridge
Argus

Access to the new development, which will front onto Dublin Street, will be by a junction on Stapleton Drive and a new 4-arm roundabout junction, while there will be alternations to the existing Stapleton Drive/Rampart Road junction, extending of and joining of Rampart road to the recently constructed Railway Road (Link Road) via a proposed traffic signal controlled junction and the 4-arm access roundabout junction.

http://www.louthcoco.ie/downloads/Reports/DevelopmentPlans/VDundalkEnvironsJul2007/PDF/Map10_A3.pdf You can see the planned roundabout on that link.

Democrat

However, developers currently have no issue with the Hill St Bridge so Mr Tosh is asking the council to reconsider €4m plans to knock it. "Given the reality that Tesco are neutral about its retention or removal, there is an issue the DTC must surely resist the opportunity to remove it now and apply the expected €4m saved to higher priority linkage and regeneration capital works."

I also think the design in similar to the Tesco in Maynooth

whelan1

well anything would be better than whats there at the minute

Smokecloak

This is great news about the redevelopment of this area. I think this new store will look if it,s built right out to the street.They should do the whole job, and remove the bridge as well. Theres no need for it there now, the trains are long gone. New roads and roundabouts instead would look the part.All the other bridges were demolished easy enough. And the ground at the side of Tescos and the Ave road is an eyesore, can,t be used for anything while the bridge is there. Except funfairs.

JupiterKid

The Dundalk Shopping Centre has long been in need of a total rebuild. Did you know that it was the very first shopping centre outside of Dublin to have escalators when it opened way back in 1974?:pac: It must have seemed so cool and modern back then but it's day is long done.

What will happen to the drive-thru McDonalds? Will it be affected by the redevelopment?

whelan1

yes my thoughts where for mc donalds too:D

Smokecloak

I don,t think that McDonalds will be affected by the development, they,l just stay the same as now. Theres plenty of space to build without uprooting them, but who knows? Anyway, it,s going to be long time before anything happens.

SDTimeout

Wouldn't be too suprised to see mc donalds do a bit of re-developing with this too.

amacachi

If this does get started I really hope the CC throw in getting rid of the bridge at the same time.

Smokecloak

You,r right there. For total redevelopment of that entire area, both sides of the bridge, it has to go sometime. It,s a bridge over nothing. Unless you could run a new road under it? Too narrow for that.

Ann22

I remember being taken to see the 'new' shopping centre when it first opened. It was a huge adventure, I was dead scared of the escalators at first. The owner's daughter was in my class. I said to her one day 'didn't your daddy build the shopping centre?' She said 'mind your own business'. I never forgot it all those years later, I must've been a sensitive wee one. I was in her class for a long time and we got on grand, however I minded my own business from then on.

Smokecloak

The DSC was a great centre in the 70s when it was new, you could,nt walk through it with crowds. Every unit was occupied. Pa,s was open then, and the Casino cinemas at the back.And you had Radio Carousel on the roof. It,s only a shadow now, of what it was then. Remember Crazy Prices there, before Tesco?

Ann22

Smokecloak wrote: »

The DSC was a great centre in the 70s when it was new, you could,nt walk through it with crowds. Every unit was occupied. Pa,s was open then, and the Casino cinemas at the back.And you had Radio Carousel on the roof. It,s only a shadow now, of what it was then. Remember Crazy Prices there, before Tesco?

I remember Radio Carousel being there alright. Remember the Djs? Hugh Hardy Rip, Kieran Murray, Mike Ahern and Ray Stone.
Pa's was the Ashley Arms though. Pa's wasnt' there 'til sometime in the 80s.
Crazy Prices was there before Tesco and Quinnsworth was there before that.
Slipped Disc was upstairs along with Budget Travel, Twiggs, the coffee shop, the Top drawer, Carrolls Bookshop upstairs with the newsagents upstairs, Connolly's furniture, another womens' clothes shop, I forget the name...The bakery downstairs with the dry cleaners, Eamon Dowd Rip menswear and Pennys of course..
and the ornamental sunken area under the stair areas with soil in them, there were always coins in them...not sure if there was one at the back door or not.

Smokecloak

Your memory is very good Ann22. The Ashley Arms jogged my memory, I,d forgotten about that. And the countless times I was in it then. Many nights there, and then down to the Casino to see a movie. I was sorry to see them remove the little fountains. It was cool to hear the water when you came in. Zeros clothes was beside them.Do you remember the security guards at the doors in the 70s? Everyone was searched going in and out. And I do remember Hugh Hardy every day at 1.00, :Welcome ye all, to country call. Memories..........................

Ann22

I was young in the 70s (born in '69) so I've more memories of the security guards in the 80's. On Saturdays there'd be hoards of teenagers gathering in Slipped Disc and walking round upstairs in circles. The guards would move us on if we stopped to lean over the railings. If we were stopped at the door walking in we'd go round and try the back way.
We used to buy buns in the bakery downstairs (Connollys?) and smuggle them up to the coffee shop to save money. I remember when I was younger my friend and I would by these lovely chocolate buns with flakes on top in Quinnsworth, we'd go upstairs to Carrolls and sit on the ground behind the shelf units looking out the window eating our buns watching the world go by:o.

jesus_thats_gre

JupiterKid wrote: »

The Dundalk Shopping Centre has long been in need of a total rebuild. Did you know that it was the very first shopping centre outside of Dublin to have escalators when it opened way back in 1974?:pac: It must have seemed so cool and modern back then but it's day is long done.

I remember I used to fly around the centre part on my bike on a Sunday if and when my ould fella had to work when it used to be Quinnsworth/Crazy Prices. As I got older, the bike was eventually replaced with a pallet truck

At least one person in my family worked there every year between 1980 and 2006. Log overdue but it will be sad to see it go - loads of memories

The security guards were sound!!

Arthur Daley

Ann22 wrote: »

Slipped Disc was upstairs along with Budget Travel, Twiggs, the coffee shop, the Top drawer, Carrolls Bookshop upstairs with the newsagents upstairs, Connolly's furniture, another womens' clothes shop, I forget the name...

Centre travel was the shopping centres own travel agents. Not sure if it's still there.

Can't remember there being a funiture shop there. Connolly's shoes and Grafton shoes where there as I recall.

Ann22

Yeah it was there for a while..right next to Carrolls. I only know it was Connolly's 'cos my oh used to work in their factory and said he used to deliver stuff for them. One of the security guards picked me up one time, carried me in there and threw me on one of the beds much to my embarrassment.

locum-motion

Arthur Daley wrote: »

Centre travel was the shopping centres own travel agents. Not sure if it's still there.

Centre Travel moved out a couple of years ago, to Dublin St near Byrne and Maguire.

frostie500

Ann22 wrote: »

Crazy Prices was there before Tesco and Quinnsworth was there before that.
Slipped Disc was upstairs along with Budget Travel, Twiggs, the coffee shop, the Top drawer, Carrolls Bookshop upstairs with the newsagents upstairs, Connolly's furniture, another womens' clothes shop, I forget the name...The bakery downstairs with the dry cleaners, Eamon Dowd Rip menswear and Pennys of course..

Pacemaker was the woman's clothes shop, down beside Crazy Prices where the trolleys are kept now

Smokecloak

WOW, All these memories of this place. Yes, the crowds on a saturday there were something.You could drive a car through it now, and not knock anyone down.All the crowds are in the Marshes now,making new memories,which they can recall 30 years from now.

a4775

i remember when the old shopping centre used to be packed out
every thursday we would do the shopping in dunnes down the street
that was when it had groceries and not just clothes
then down to the old shopping centre to the butchers, and to have a root about

i used to love the pet shop that was there, they had the fish tanks up against the glass and i would spend ages looking in there
i think it was where heatons was, it was in one of those corner shops anyway

then if we were very well behaved, we might get to go on the stairs while my mam waited below because she was scared of them
i bought my first tape in golden discs upstairs too, and i used to like that coffee shop place
is it called the coffee shop?
cant remember now
also, there was a clothes shop called zap, and it had a big pink neon light in it
maybe that is the womans clothes shop you guys are thinking of

bogman44

I used to hang around there a lot back in the day.
I remember Celli's handbag shop, Richie Blackmore sports.
I worked in Quinnsworth for a week. 70 hours at 36p an hour. I used to get home at 11ish every night after starting before 8am.
I was almost sacked once for taking a couple of sweets from the pick'n'mix.

Ann22

bogman44 wrote: »

I used to hang around there a lot back in the day.
I remember Celli's handbag shop, Richie Blackmore sports.
I worked in Quinnsworth for a week. 70 hours at 36p an hour. I used to get home at 11ish every night after starting before 8am.
I was almost sacked once for taking a couple of sweets from the pick'n'mix.

Miserable feckers:eek:........Remember all the yellow pack stuff? There was a shop upstairs for a while where Connolly's was (next to Carrolls) called The Gap. I walked into a window there once thinking it was a door. Two lads at the door of Ceilli's were doubled up laughing.:o

qc3

Ann22 wrote: »

Miserable feckers:eek:........Remember all the yellow pack stuff? There was a shop upstairs for a while where Connolly's was (next to Carrolls) called The Gap. I walked into a window there once thinking it was a door. Two lads at the door of Ceilli's were doubled up laughing.:o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuwMYC7Z2ug

Ann22

:D:D

LOTTOWINNER

Am I right in saying that there was a motor accessories shop beside Peter marks, in the very early days.

Ann22

LOTTOWINNER wrote: »

Am I right in saying that there was a motor accessories shop beside Peter marks, in the very early days.

I don't remember that Lotowinner, was it where the shoe shop is?

LOTTOWINNER

I don't remember exactly, I think Eamonn Dowd had his clothes shop there in later years, (close to the bottom of the escalator)

patrickc

what shops are in it now?

anytime ive been back home havent been in it

locum-motion

patrickc wrote: »

what shops are in it now?

anytime ive been back home havent been in it

From the front, going down the right hand side:

Hickey's Pharmacy (formerly Dillon's Pharmacy)
Empty (used to be Optimum Opticians)
Photo shop (Richard Macken's)
Empty (used to be Market Fresh)
Tesco
Tesco Trolley Park
Traynor's Butcher
Connolly's Butcher
Connolly's Deli and Coffee Shop

Left hand side:

Empty (was Carroll's Newsagent)
Peter Mark
Shoes
Premium Menswear (was Eamon Dowd's)
More Tesco
Empty (was Heatons, previously Penneys)
T-Shirt printing shop (also Richard Macken's, was Carroll's Hallmark Card Shop.)
T&G Byrne Locksmith/Shoe Repair
Empty (was a Cake Shop)
Smack Dry Cleaners (Richard Macken again)

Upstairs:

Completely empty, AFAIK.
(The coffee shop was called 'The Coffee Dock')

If anyone can fill in gaps or correct errors, fire ahead.

AFAIK, Richard Macken, Traynor's and Connolly's have all been tenants there since Day One.

Ann22

Part of Heatons was probably previously Pennys but there was a flower shop of some kind there. I can't really picture it but I knew a girl whose father owned it.