The development of the largest retail park in the history of the State was announced today.
The 20,000-square-metre park in Tyrrelstown will cost around €200 million to develop, according to the Dublin-based firm Twinlite Developments.
The company is the lead developer at Tyrrelstown in north west Dublin - the State's first mixed-type, planned-town development, with over 2,000 homes and extensive retail space.
Twinlite director Rick Larkin
Other firms involved in the development include Merville Homes, McInerneys and Krannock Builders.
Situated north of Mulhuddart, Tyrrelstown is eight miles from central Dublin located south of Hollystown Golf Course and set between the N2 and N3.
The site has been under development since 2001. A 10,000-square-metre-retail space in the town centre opened for business earlier this year, the second phase of a major housing development was launched in the summer, and a four-star hotel opened last month.
Twinlite director Rick Larkin today said: "The [retail] park represents a serious investment in Tyrrelstown on our part and will greatly enhance the area for local residents in addition to creating significant employment opportunities for the 4,000 people living in the locality."
The new scheme will consist of retail warehousing and six large motor showrooms. Building is due to start at the same time as the construction of the new N2 - N3 link road, which is planned for completion in early 2008, the company says.
"We haven't started yet because it's a condition of the planning permission that we have to wait for construction on the link road to begin but we hope to be occupying units by the Spring of 2008," Mr Larkin said.
Planning permissions has yet to be sought for the motor park but full planning permission has already been obtained for the rest of the development.
A similar scheme at Adamstown near Lucan in west Dublin is under construction, and Minister for the Environment Dick Roche last month announced another scheme at Balgaddy/Clonburris to the south west of the city.