25-storey apartment development for The Sextant site has been accepted for fast-track planning

Plans for a 25-storey apartment development on the site of the former Sextant Bar has been accepted for the fast-track planning process.

Cork company, the JCD Group, want to build more than 200 apartments on the Sextant and Carey’s Tool Hire site which they purchased earlier this year.

The site extends from Albert Road along Albert Street, fronting Albert Quay and includes the former Terminus for the Cork-Blackrock & Passage Railway.

The proposed scheme will comprise of 201 apartments; with 95 one bed, 102 two bed and 4 three-bed apartments.

This week, An Bord Pleanála accepted the JCD application under the Strategic Housing Development programme.

It means An Bord Pleanála will assess the planning application, bypassing the planning department in Cork City Council.

The JCD Group has been responsible for some of Cork's most significant developments in recent years, completing more than 1.65 million square feet of commercial buildings including The Capitol on Grand Parade, the City Gate complex in Mahon, 85 South Mall, One Albert Quay and the Penrose Dock development currently under construction.

Part of the proposed Carey's site scheme will include the relocation of the bar and restaurant use from the former Sextant premises to the protected Ticketing Office and Railway Terminus Building located on Albert Street, the creation of an internal public plaza and the refurbishment of the Station Offices for office use.

The development will include a 25th-floor residents’ lounge and dining area which will be available to all residents of the scheme; residents’ gym; public café; co-working space; games room; and a basement with car spaces, large area for bicycle parking, refuse and recycling as well as dedicated storage areas for the apartments.

The scheme has been designed by architects Henry J Lyons with input from London based Urban Initiatives Studio and tall buildings specialist Richard Coleman from CityDesigner, as well as conservation architects JCA.

Under the Strategic Housing Development process, JCD will publish a website for the application where the public can view the plans and make submissions before An Bord Pleanála will make a decision on the application.