Planning permission granted for Waterford's North Quays development

Waterford Council has granted planning permission for the North Quays development.

The mixed-use development includes 15,000 square metres of office space, 298 riverside apartments, a hotel and conference centre as well as tourism, retail & food offerings.

Falcon Real Estate say the total combined estimated private & public investment in North Quays is over €500m.

Construction work on the podium & piling aspect of the site itself is targeted to start by Christmas 2020 in tandem with the Government infrastructure programme plan that has already begun on the roads, with the bridge & rail programme due to commence upon funding confirmation from the government.

Falcon say they intend to purchase the whole of the North Quays site from Waterford Council and then immediately begin detailed design & contract award to general contractors.

It's subject to the confirmation of government funding before the end of August.

Waterford Council is delighted to advise that the Chief Executive has approved the Planning Application by Falcon Real Estate Development Ltd for the SDZ on the North Quays in Waterford. CE says this represents the achievement of another important step. #Waterford2040 pic.twitter.com/lUCftpeyfs

— Waterford City & County Council (@WaterfordCounci) July 10, 2020

"We are delighted at the decision of Waterford City and County Council to grant full planning permission for the North Quays SDZ Project. This is the culmination of four years of hard work with a significant effort made by many but particularly, the community & stakeholders of Waterford and the South East itself." said Rob Cass, Director, Falcon Real Estate Development Limited.

Rob continued: "The North Quays redefines a new & exciting vision for the City, supporting and enhances a vibrant public realm and kicks off a very exciting decade ahead for Waterford & the South East region as the delivery of North Quays sees the potential of the city-region start to be unlocked, as a destination for people across Ireland and beyond to come and experience.

"We hope the community will take great pride in turning these plans into reality as we enter the next phase and we'll be undertaking significant community engagement events in the forthcoming weeks and months."

The project description is a mixed-use development, to include:

Seven storey twin block comprising 15,000 square metres of prime office space to accommodate 1,100 jobs, immediately adjacent to the city’s train & bus station, at prime rents 50% better value than Dublin.
Five residential buildings ranging in height from 7 to 17 storeys, with 298 riverside apartments to accommodate 500 to 600 residents, with value of apartments 50% better value than Dublin prime apartments.
A fifteen storey 200-room 4-star hotel and conference centre.
30,000 m2 of high quality open & green community public space designed to attract visitors from Waterford, the surrounding areas and international tourists & unlock access to the North Quays 24/7.
The location of one of Ireland’s most modern and multi-nodal sustainable transport hubs, acting as new model for Ireland with a new train station, bus interchange & greenway hub for the 100km South East Greenway connecting nearby communities via dedicated bike routes, plus connecting to the South Quays & City Centre via a Sustainable Transport Bridge.
Mixed use commercial building destination comprising tourism, retail, food & beverage marketplace, cinema & crèche offering destination & digital retail for the region.
Visitors will be able to enjoy quality waterfront restaurants and rooftop bars & cafés with over 30,000 square metres of green open space and a riverside promenade for full access to the quayside with unprecedented in Ireland quality of finishes.
The development is built to BREEAM Gold standard and is 100% renewable energy, which in turn has been designed to be owned by Community Energy Co-op's.
As a sign of confidence in the Development from Commercial Partners, the project has been commercially progressed that sees 50% of the apartments sold, 50% of the offices sold and the Hotel pre-sold.