Iconic Patrick St building comes back into view after refresh

Cork shoppers are hopeful of a pre-Christmas return-to-use of one of the city’s best-known commercial buildings, while a new ice rink for the city centre has also been announced in the run-up to the festive season.

This week the iconic former Debenhams store, more fondly remembered as Roches Stores, on Cork city’s Patrick St, finally came back into view, after its much-needed refresh.

Its facade, kept under a builder’s wrap for months, has now emerged as new owners Intersport Elverys unveiled the building's facelift.

While work on the 150,000 sq ft premises is taking place away from the public gaze, it’s understood millions have been invested in upgrading the interior, and in enhancing the landmark store’s appearance, in preparation for the eventual re-opening.

Elverys will occupy the flagship store in the building — 16,000 sq ft at ground level and 22,000 sq foot above — under an atrium/dome installed in the 1990s.

Planning permission was granted last year to divide the ground floor into three units, paving the way for full occupancy. Cosmetics, skincare and home-fragrance retailer Rituals is due to occupy one unit with Spanish fashion retailer Zara also being mentioned as a possible future tenant. A fourth retail unit will be accessed off Maylor St.

Intersport Elverys purchased the property for €12m in 2023, considerably less than the €20m list price.

Ice rink in former Dunnes

Meanwhile, an ice rink is set to inhabit the former Dunnes Stores unit at Cork's North Main Street Shopping Centre, with the new owner of the building planning to "breathe life back into the city centre."

Onice, which has operated skating rinks at Marina Market for the past three years, will move to the North Main St location. 

Another ice rink firm, Cork on Ice, will take over the Marina Market location.

Onice founder Jason Williams said he hoped the seasonal pop-up in the former Dunnes Stores would bring "a struggling part of the city... to life." 

Cosmetic work before the rink's opening on November 6, including a repaint of the front of the shopping centre building, is underway.

The supermarket unit has been empty since it was used as a HSE covid vaccination centre in 2021. 

Before that, it had a short life as an indoor bike parking facility.

The shopping centre was developed in conjunction with a 400-space multi-storey car park in the 1980s, the latter of which is now owned and operated by Cork City Council.

Cork County Council planning records show its developer, Owen O'Callaghan, obtained permission for a skating rink in the building in 2005.

The site's anchor tenant, Dunnes Stores, vacated the premises in 2016, with the centre struggling to secure new tenants since.