12 April 2019

As part of a scheduled trip to Cork City on Friday 12th April, Paschal Donohoe TD, Minister for Finance made a site visit to Penrose Dock to review the ongoing transformation of Cork’s Docklands, an area that is pivotal to enhancing Cork’s position as a location of choice for both multinational and indigenous companies. The visit took place at the 250,000 sq. ft. Penrose Dock office development, which is currently under construction by JCD Group and represents an overall investment of €125 million for Cork city.

 

Penrose Dock which has been designed by award winning architects Wilson Architecture, will consist of two state of the art Gold LEED office buildings with world class staff amenities which will be capable of accommodating up to 2,500 employees once complete. Planning permission for the scheme, which is promoting “A New Kind of Work Day”, was granted back in October last year and contractors PJ Hegarty’s started construction work immediately.

 

After viewing the onsite progress at Penrose Dock, Minister Donohoe stated: “It’s great to witness first hand that the transformation of Cork’s Docklands is now well underway. We have seen how this type of development and regeneration of city centre sites have worked very well in other progressive locations around the world. With the integration of public transport, large employment hubs and ultimately high-density residential developments, these projects breathe life and prosperity back into areas of cities that have long been underutilized. Cork competes at a global level for Foreign Direct Investment and developments such as Penrose Dock will undoubtedly add to its current offering of quality of life, competitive cost base and well-established multinational clusters in life sciences and technology, as well as its excellent educational ecosystem.”

 

Minister Donohoe added: “It’s also very positive to see such significant private sector confidence and investment in the city, which will be complimented by the committed public sector funding to Cork for important infrastructure projects such as the Dunkettle Interchange and planned investment in public transport in the city. This is consistent with the ambitious vision for Cork outlined in the Government’s National Planning Framework and Project Ireland 2040.”

 

Penrose Dock, which is transforming Cork’s skyline month by month, is being delivered in one single phase, with the first companies occupying in April 2020. Its position adjacent to Kent station and minutes from the City’s bus station is seen as an ideal location for a large-scale employment hub giving excellent access to public transport.

 

The development will consist of two state of the art office blocks offering large open plan floor plates of up to 20,000 sq. ft, with Penrose One providing column free floors giving panoramic views of the city and harbour. There will also be a 10,500 sq. ft. state of the art gymnasium with purpose-built rooms for group exercise and classes; a proposed wine bar/coffee shop with a quality food offering; 180 basement car spaces of which 50 will have electric charging points, co-working facilities and a large town hall space. This is in addition to the refurbishment of the historic 12,000 sq. ft. Penrose House, as a key feature of the 1.8-acre scheme.

 

John Cleary CEO of JCD Group stated: “We are very grateful to Minister Donohoe for taking the time to visit the site today and review the progress being made in the delivery of Penrose Dock. It is an example of how the private sector is investing in Cork in anticipation of the proposed public sector investment committed for the City under the Government’s National Planning Framework, Project Ireland 2040. I believe this is a very exciting time for Cork given its excellent track record in attracting foreign direct investment and the talent pool that already exists here. Given the international competition for talent we believe facilities such as Penrose Dock will help companies attract and retain the best people. Furthermore, given the competitive cost base and access to world class 3rd level institutions such as UCC and CIT, Cork can become a real counterbalance to Dublin.”

 

For further information on Penrose Dock visit www.penrosedock.com.