Tetrarch Capital’s had four years to develop two vacant sites at Parnell Place. What’s happened in the meantime?
Nothing.
More than four years after being granted planning permission to develop a hotel on the site of listed buildings at Parnell Place in Cork city centre, Dublin-based developers Tetrarch Capital have yet to make a first move.
The site, which consists of two boarded-up vacant warehouses constructed in the 19th century facing onto Parnell Place, were disposed of by Cork City Council to Tetrarch in 2017. Tetrarch reportedly offered €2.75m for the two properties. The property consortium lost no time in applying for planning permission to build a 165-bedroom “hip new urban budget hotel concept aimed at the millennial traveller”.
Planning permission was granted at the tail end of 2018, with The Irish Examiner reporting that construction work would commence in 2019.
To date no construction work has been undertaken at the site which is adjacent to Parnell Place bus station and stretches back to Deane Street.
Tripe + Drisheen contacted Murray Consultants, a PR agency which represents Tetrarch Capital for comment and updates about the construction delay.
A spokesperson for Murray told T+D “there’s no further information to supply at this time.”
However, Cork City Council, the previous owners of the sites, was more forthcoming in response to our queries and stated that they had been in regular contact with Tetrarch Capital.
A council spokesperson said the City Council disposed of the vacant properties to Tetrarch Capital in mid-December 2017. The council purchased the sites at 7-9 Parnell Place from two separate businesses that had gone into receivership in a bid to spark an economic revival of the area.
According to Cork City Council, “the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on both the construction and hospitality sectors compromised the advancement of the project.”
Furthermore, the city council said it has been in “regular communication with the owners to ensure that the approved project is now moved forward.”
For most of its 150-year existence the warehouse at 7/8 Parnell Place was occupied by Ogilvie & Moore, purveyors of “choice teas, coffees, cocoa, spices, rice” and much else. A heritage assessment carried out by Fred Hamond, an industrial archaeologist working on behalf of JCA Architects for Tetrarch Capital, revealed the presence of an intact cast iron hoist in the middle of the top floor of the warehouse.
As the assessment noted, the presence of loading doors on the facade would suggest there was also an external hoist for moving goods up and down the outside of the listed building. Hamond recommended that the hoist be retained and displayed in the proposed redevelopment of the building as a “tangible reminder of the building’s former use as a warehouse.”
Tetrarch’s planning application also included the reopening of an historic laneway located between the two warehouses which would connect Parnell Place with Deane Street.
According to Tetrarch’s website, the firm is a “leading player in Irish real estate with assets under management of circa €500 million.” It has a “proven track record of sourcing opportunistic acquisitions with significant value add potential, having completed over 25 property and portfolio transactions to date.”
Tetrarch Capital has a number of high profile properties listed in its portfolio including City West Hotel and Mount Juliet Estate. The Sunday Business Post reported that following Tetrach’s purchase of Howth Castle for more than €21 million in 2019, Michael McElligott, Tetrarch’s chief executive, wrote to Fingal County Council to state that Howth Castle and demesne is a “private estate and not an ‘open space’ or a ‘public right of way’”. For several decades the grounds of the 170-acre site were used by members of the public as there had been many access points to the grounds of Howth Castle.
Elsewhere, BAM Ireland told Tripe+Drisheen that discussions are ongoing around the development of the former Revenue Commissioners site on Sullivan’s Quay. The former tax office was the temporary home of Sample-Studios for many years until the building was demolished in 2019.
BAM said that it intends to progress with the planned construction of a hotel and a significant amount of Grade A office space.
A spokesperson for BAM Ireland said that “talks are taking place against the backdrop of significant construction inflation which is delaying the commencement of several projects in the industry. BAM Ireland is confident that this site will be developed and is looking forward to doing so as soon as possible”.
It’s worth noting that BAM have issued almost the identical statement when previously questioned about plans for the site of the former tax office, such as they did here in the summer of 2022.
