Lofty ideas for Cork landmark building inspired by Huge Wallace's vision 

The vision of the late architect, interior designer, and television personality Hugh Wallace could help to transform a landmark Cork city furniture store.

The Loft, a 21,000sq ft premises on a high-profile, 0.5a (0.2ha) site, between Cornmarket St and North Main St, with strong development potential, has hit the market with a €6m price tag.

The vendors, the Herlihy family, have already run the rule over potential future uses — guided by Douglas Wallace Architects — and have prepared a preliminary plan for a mixed-use project that includes retail space and student accommodation.

Options

Rodney Herlihy said a lot of thought and early design work had gone into exploring options for the substantial premises.

“We were fortunate to have architectural input and design from the late Hugh Wallace, whose vision helped shape the initial concept for the site,” Mr Herlihy said.

The owners and their professional team recently held what they described as a “positive” pre-planning consultation with Cork City Council in respect of the proposed development, which the owners said was “a carefully considered architectural intervention that seeks to respond respectfully to the historical, urban, and human context of this prominent city centre location”.

The proposed redevelopment of the protected structure includes the retention of the elevations of The Loft in a part-three, part-five, and part-seven-storey building. Features would include communal amenity spaces in three courtyards, a public outdoor seating area, general landscaping, and boundary treatments.

Mr Herlihy said that as “a substantial amount of preparatory work” was already completed, it would enable the purchaser “to move forward quickly”.

While the current proposal is for ground-floor retail and 206 student bedspaces, Mr Herlihy said the property was “sufficiently flexible to accommodate a range of alternative uses, including hotel or hostel development, subject to planning permission”.

Versatility

Its versatility should “broaden its appeal to a wide range of local and international investors”, he added.

The site is zoned ‘ZO 5, City Centre’ under the Cork City Development Plan 2022 — 2028, where primary uses include, but are not limited to, retail, residential uses, community uses, offices, hotels, cultural and leisure facilities, education and healthcare institutions and facilities, and uses that contribute to “the vibrancy and diversity of the city centre”.

The current proposal’s focus on student accommodation is against a backdrop of an acute undersupply of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) in Cork.

In recent years, there’s been a strong focus on the delivery of PBSA in the city, with close to 3,500 new student beds delivered since September 2019.