Eight high-profile properties in Cork have come onto the market. The landmark retail buildings at Cook St and Oliver Plunkett St were originally planned to be used as part of Penneys’ huge expansion project for its city centre store.

The block is up for sale as Penneys has drastically cut its original expansion plans, with eight units now surplus to requirements. However, a major repair and refurbishment project will start in the existing Penneys building after the summer, as well as an extension of operations into the former Jack and Jones store and one vacant unit on Cook St.

It’s now hoped that the sale of an entire block on Cook Street could spur the regeneration of that avenue, which has been blighted by empty stores and closed restaurants for many years.

The Irish fashion retailer is letting go of:

No. 2 Cook Street (Vacant)No. 3 Cook Street (Vacant)No. 4 Cook Street (Tenant on first floor)No. 5 Cook Street (Vacant)No. 6 Cook Street (Central Shoes)No. 7 Cook Street (Murphy’s)No. 97 Oliver Plunkett Street (Wicked Vapes)No. 98 Oliver Plunkett Street (Vacant)

Up for sale with Savills in one or more lots, selling agents Lia Dennehy and James O’Donovan say the units benefit from a high-profile city centre location on pedestrianised streets with established nearby occupiers, including Penneys, Dunnes Stores, Pandora, Brown Thomas, Easons, Urban Outfitters and others. They have advertised it as an “opportunity to acquire and enhance a prominent city centre block.”

The eight properties formed part of a larger block for which planning was granted to redevelop and extend the Penneys store on Patrick Street. But after scaling down the blueprints, the retailer is now selling off units it will no longer need – ahead of work starting on expansion.

A Penneys spokesperson said: “We can’t wait to bring a bigger and better Penneys to the heart of Cork city centre. Plans are well underway to bring our customers the store makeover they’ve been waiting for, and our colleagues an incredible workplace. We’ll be sharing more information around when we’re hoping to bring this all to life in the coming weeks”.

Earlier this year, Penneys said work would begin this autumn. It’s expected that construction will begin in October, and the historic retail property will undergo improvements and repairs, as well as the multi-million euro expansion job.

The plans include:

Change of use of the entire building at 33-34 St. Patrick’s Street (Tiger) to retail useInternal demolition work at Penneys to facilitate refurbishment and improvements to the existing store, including the removal of internal partition walls, and the removal of the existing escalatorA new goods lift pitReconfiguration and amalgamation of No 1 Cook Street (vacant unit behind Tiger) and 31 St Patrick’s Street (former Jack and Jones)Upgrade of existing internal ancillary storage, staff support and administrative office spacesAlterations to the façades of St. Patrick’s Street, Cook Street, Oliver Plunkett Street and Robert Street shopfrontsExternal signage, including “Hong Kong-style banners”Conservation repair works and cleaning, including windows and ironwork

Penneys to expand to 6,000 sq ft of retail space at its St Patrick Street store

Back in 2021, Penneys revealed its initial plans to double the size of its flagship Munster store, expanding to an incredible 54,000 sq ft of retail space. The fashion giant acquired adjoining properties in preparation for what was to be a huge investment into high-street retail in the city centre.

Penneys, working with Cork-based firm O’Flynn Construction, successfully secured planning permission in 2023 for some demolition works and the amalgamation of several retail units, but the project faced delays in recent years due to high projected costs.

Since then, Penneys has hugely scaled back its original proposal, with new revisions cutting the expansion to 6,000 sq ft. Two years after securing planning permission, the retailer is pushing forward with a ‘fast track’ plan to expand to 40,500 sq ft of shopping space.

Penneys aims to keep the popular store – one of its busiest shops in Ireland – open throughout the development. The expansion should bring a number of vacant units back to life, including an empty unit on Cook Street and the former Jack & Jones store. Flying Tiger will also be incorporated into the enlarged flagship Penneys.

Meanwhile, other city centre properties currently on the market include the former Ronnie Moore office supply store on Marlboro Street, the Exchange Buildings on Princes Street, the former Veritas book shop on Carey’s Lane and a three-storey St Patrick’s Street property where the ground floor is currently let to Boots.