By Catherine Shanahan Irishexaminer.com
For Urban Outfitters, it鈥檚 the first foray by the US fashion chain into the Cork market. It has just one other Irish store, in Dublin鈥檚 Temple Bar.
The Cork shop will operate out of 101 St Patrick鈥檚 Street, which has been empty since the 2019 closure of womens-wear store Dorothy Perkins-Evans.
The distinctive four-storey bow-fronted building has been redecorated in recent weeks.
The deal that brought the US chain to the city centre was put together by Penrose Wharf-based financial advisory firm, Mc2 Accountants, which owns the 6,000 sq ft building.
鈥淲e are delighted to announce that we have agreed terms with Urban Outfitters for 101 Patrick鈥檚 St, and they hope to be occupying the premises by the end of September,鈥 said Jim McCarthy, a partner at Mc2.
At one stage, the building was on the market with letting agents Savills, featuring a rent of 鈧230,000pa. However it was bought from its investor owner by MC2 for a sum thought to be between 鈧1-鈧2m.
Urban Outfitters are the latest in a number of well-known clothing retail brands to set up shop on 鈥楶ana鈥, which suffered badly during the pandemic, particularly with the closure 鈥 ongoing 鈥 of flagship store, Debenhams.
However it is understood a planning application will shortly by lodged in respect of Debenhams that will seek to reinvigorate key frontage onto St Patrick鈥檚 Street and Maylor St. The phased development will take place across two blocks, A and B, with four individual units, located within Block A, forming part of the upcoming planning application.
Three of these retail units will be entered from St Patrick鈥檚 Street and one from Maylor Street. Proposals for the remainder of the former department store, including the service yard to the rear and the properties of 38-40 Maylor Street, will form part of a separate, later application.
It鈥檚 good news for St Patrick鈥檚 Street where fortunes have improved in the past two years, with the arrival of Spanish fashion retail giant Mango 鈥攊n the former Quills store, which had been vacant since 2010 鈥 and more recently the arrival of Seasalt Cornwall, who took over the former French Connection store at No 86.
Other relative newbies include fashion retailer Flannels at the former Eason store; JD Sport in the former A-Wear store; outdoor wear specialists North Face; UK footwear retailer Dune; fashion jewellers Lovisa at the former Game Stop shop on the corner of Princes St; Carrolls Irish gift shop (formerly Oasis); and jewellery sellers Neve/Diamond Direct, at No 22, the former Cudmore鈥檚, under the banner of Austen & Blake.
Opera Lane, where women鈥檚 fashion store New Look recently closed, has new tenants too, including Mountain Warehouse, who took over the lease at the long-vacant Topman.
Urban Outfitters, across the road from due-to-expand Penneys, promises to cater to 鈥渢rend-aware tastemakers and aspirational teens鈥.
The chain offers clothing, home goods and accessories for men and women.