Town fights back with approval for shops, houses and care home
Tuesday December 09 2008
Three substantial property developments have been approved in Portlaoise, Co Laois
Aldi has received the green light for a development of seven shops, including a discount food store and 349 parking spaces on a site off the Kylekiproe Road.
In a separate project, Sydney Lewis has obtained planning permission for 602 new homes, an 86-bed residential care home and a neighbourhood centre at Summerhill/Aghnaharna, and Ballymooney, Portlaoise.
The third new project is being undertaken by the Bank Partnership, which has obtained planning permission for a 6,085 sqm three-storey, mixed commercial development, including retail space, restaurants, office units and staff facilities at Bank Place.
This project will also involve a change of use for the existing prison officers' club to a bar/restaurant.
Property
In 2005, Laois prison officers received almost €2.5m for the 0.8-acre property which 231 prison officers had originally bought in 1980 by contributing IR£500 (c€650) each.
While the town's economy is underpinned by the prison and the recently decentralised Department of Agriculture, over the last 12 months two major mixed-use developments in Portlaoise were hit by financial difficulties. The most recent of these related to the Parkside shopping and residential development, to which Kieran Wallace, of KPMG, was appointed examiner.
Irish retailer Superquinn is the anchor tenant at Parkside, which was developed by G&L Property Investments -- owned by Michael Lalor and John Grace. It is understood that the examiner is in talks with prospective investors.
The other Portlaoise development -- the Maltings -- was being built by another developer, Maryborough Construction, to which Anglo-Irish Bank appointed Martin Ferris, of Ferris & Associates, as receiver.
- Donal Buckley
