Lofty ambitions: Plans revealed for country’s tallest tower
The development and design team for a proposed 34-storey hotel tower at Leeside’s Port of Cork site is to host a public information event tomorrow on the €150m scheme, prior to lodging an application for planning permission for what would be Ireland’s tallest tower, by a margin of nearly 10 storeys.
Coming two years after securing one of the city’s most visually-arresting sites, and anticipated since they agreed the €5m deal subject to planning with Port of Cork, the event is scheduled for tomorrow, at the Custom House, Port of Cork, from 11am to 2pm.
Executives from US-based Tower Holdings Group arrived in Cork last night, and have released details of their Custom House Quay plan, for nearly 400,000 sq ft of lofty development.
It includes a high-rise, waterside 240-bed hotel tower, some limited offices, public plaza, as well as some retail and cultural uses.
It envisages a 350-ft high tower, to be positioned just alongside the Cork Harbour Commissioners and Bonded Warehouses’ protected structures, with a new facade over the low-slung warehouse buildings.
The developers, with US and Kerry backgrounds, already have secured planning for a 15-storey tower, The Prism, 100 metres away.
Conor Lee, Tower Holdings’ Irish director of operations, says it will be “the centrepiece of Cork’s new business district”.
“For the first time ever, this entire area will be fully opened up to the people of Cork.
As the tallest building in Ireland, the hotel itself will be a focal point for the city rising.
"Equally, the design is aimed at preserving the existing infrastructure for future generations through the addition of new tourism and commercial offerings.”
If approved, the scheme could cater for 800 jobs, and 300-400 jobs during construction.
