Northside Shopping Centre
Northside Shopping Centre is a shopping centre located in Coolock, a suburban area in Dublin's Northside. One of the earliest shopping centres in Ireland, it was built in 1970 and is the only one with a swimming pool. It has been expanded and refurbished and renovated a number of times and passed through the hands of the National Asset Management Agency, before being sold to Patron Capital. Patron then sold the centre for a sum of €50 million in 2019 to German company Am Alpha
Location | Coolock, Dublin |
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Coordinates | 53.395761°N 6.213612°W |
Address | Oscar Traynor Road |
Opening date | 18 June 1970 |
Owner | AM Alpha |
Architect | Stephenson Gibney & Associates |
Parking | 600+[1] |
Website | northsidesc |
History
The centre was originally constructed in 1970 as an open-air facility, designed by Stephenson Gibney & Associates. It, along with Stillorgan Shopping Centre, which remained open-air for decades, was one of the first modern shopping centres in Ireland. The local authority, then Dublin Corporation, arranged for a municipal swimming pool, constructed above the shopping centre proper.
Renovations and extension in the 1980s and 2008 have covered most of Sam Stephenson's original open-space concept.[2]
In 2013 it was announced that a €5 million further refurbishment was about to commence in the centre.[3] This followed the loss of the anchor non-food store, a Dunnes Stores branch, and saw the arrival of new shops, including Heatons (with Sportsworld), new dining facilities, and a Well Woman Centre. The refurbishment was completed in late 2016 following a 2-phase modernisation of both interior and exterior.[4]
The centre was numbered among the property assets of NAMA, Ireland's post-recession National Asset Management Agency; it was subsequently sold to Patron Capital for €49m.[5]
Popular media
The branch of Paddy Power bookmakers in the car park was one of the venues visited in a Channel 4's Undercover Boss episode 3, season 4.[6]
Competition
Three other centres, Omni Park Shopping Centre, Artaine Castle Shopping Centre and Clarehall Shopping Centre, compete for business in the area.
References
- "Northside Shopping Centre". Savills Marketing Commercialisation and Research. 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- "1970 – Northside Shopping Centre, Coolock, Dublin". Archiseek. 2015.
- "€5m Investment for Northside Shopping Centre". Insider Media. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- "It's celebration time at Northside Shopping Centre". Dublin People (newspaper). 16 October 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- "Nama sales so far and still to come". Project Drive. Irish Independent. 16 May 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- "Series 4 - Episode 3 – William Reeve, Paddy Power". Channel 4. Retrieved 21 November 2016.