Dunnes boost to major east Meath shopping centre

South Gate Shopping Centre at Colpe Cross in east Meath remains on target for an end of November opening, Anchor tenant Dunnes Stores has confirmed that it is to start recruiting 150 staff immediately for its new 44,000 square feet store within the centre. When completed, it will employ approximately 350 people. The €100 million centre, close to Bettystown and Drogheda, is one of its first on the Irish scene with a semi-open top glass roof area, and a wide open street which will have water features, together with an array of natural trees and light. Dunnes will occupy the anchor store in the open streetscape centre which will include 24 retail units plus a bar, restaurants, coffee shops, medical centre and a gym. This latest opening by the Irish retailer brings to four the number of Dunnes Stores in the Drogheda area, which has creates employment for 410 people in the region. South Gate is a very impressive, high-quality development with great accessibility on the Dublin-Drogheda"s road. Together with the enormous amount of existing 'chimney pots", an expected growth in the house population in the southern Drogheda environs - which could see up to 5,000 new homes being built - will leave South Gate a very vibrant and exciting centre for future tenants and shoppers. Phil Reilly, managing director of Shannon Homes, said that his aspiration of an iconic building on a major new roundabout on the Drogheda-Dublin road has now emerged beyond his greatest expectation, and is a tribute to the architects, KMD, and the entire project team. 'Sisk has constructed the centre on behalf of Shannon Homes and we enjoy a wonderful working relationship with them. Despite one of the worse summers on record to date, they will be able to bring the centre in on time,' he said. Southgate is part of the new concept for the area of tying a residential community in with a regional shopping and leisure complex. The residential development, Grange Rath, is located at Colpe Cross, just a short distance from Drogheda. Shannon Homes has been building new homes on the east coast of Ireland for over two decades, mainly in Drogheda and Ardee and more recently in Dundalk, and has constructed in excess of 1,200 houses in that period. One of the largest developers in the country, Shannon employs approximately 100 full-time workes in Drogheda alone. The company has a reputation for quality and workmanship and is a member of the HomeBuilders Association and the Construction Industry Federation. All their houses are covered under the HomeBond 10-year guarantee scheme. Shannon Homes has also been one the leading developers of high-quality residential developments in the Dublin region, having produced some of the finest housing and apartment developments in this area in recent years, including Donnybrook Castle, Dublin 4; Seamount, Mount Merrion, and the recently completed and much acclaimed St Gabriel"s, Cabinteely, Dublin 18. The company"s reputation has been built on careful initial selection of prime sites and choice locations, matched with a quality of design, construction and professional overall finish. The Shannon Homes development at Blackrock Cove, south of Dundalk, has been widely praised for the fine selection of four- and five-bedroom houses. The Grange Rath development represents an important improvement in the quality and supply of residential accommodation available to people wish to live close to Drogheda or in east Meath, while at the same time providing a great challenge for Shannon Homes as a company. This development fits very well with the new motorway and Government plans to turn Drogheda in to a city of 70,000 people. The development has been a major provider of both temporary and permanent jobs for the area. A state-of-the-art creche, which opened in May 2007, boasts of approx 5,400 square feet of modern, bright accommodation with a fully equipped playground for children. Agents dealing with the Southgate Shoping Centre are Jones Lang LaSalle and Thomas Byrne, Auctioneers.