THE Frascati Centre in Blackrock has now fully opened after its €30m extension and refurbishment, marking the completion of the first major shopping centre development since the recession.
The new-generation centre offers one of the most diverse mixtures of tenants in Ireland with a third of its newly developed space given over to health and beauty, and a further third to food and beverage.
The centre has doubled in size and now has over 170,000 sq ft for retail and other uses.
Anchor retail tenants include M&S, Aldi and Debenhams with Vodafone, Boots, Bannon Jewellers, Vienna Shoes, Bookstation, Pamela Scott, Serena Boutique, Sun Bear Gelato, Health Store and Murrays Mobile also having outlets there.
John Bruder of Burlington Real Estate, the Irish operating partner of owner, Invesco Real Estate, a global real estate investment manager, said: “This centre will provide the most modern retail offering in the country, outdoing all of its competitors for design and style.
“The diversity of what is on offer at Frascati is central to a strategy of attracting customers to visit retail outlets despite the prevalence of online shopping in modern culture.
“While customers are finding online shopping convenient for various purposes, our attractive and comfortable food and beverage space and high-end health and beauty quarter along with modern leisure and medical facilities ensure visitors get an experience here that they cannot get through online shopping.”
The dedicated restaurant hub includes Kays Kitchen, Five Guys, McDonalds, Café Nero, M&S Café with more to come. It has panoramic views over Dublin Bay.
The modern, open-plan centre also has Ireland’s first dedicated ‘Health and Beauty’ quarter which includes a flagship new Peter Marks, gents grooming/pampering studio at Sugar Daddys, Sugar Coated manicures, Sisu Aesthetics Clinic beauty plus Blackrock Medical Centre, Yoga Hub and a gym.
The centre is at the heart of one of the most affluent areas of the country and the tenant mix is designed to attract visitors from a wide catchment area.
“Just a third of our new space is traditional retail,” Mr Bruder added.
“The additional services such as the restaurant hub, health and beauty quarter, one of the largest customer car parks in Dublin, attractive external eating areas, panoramic views, and a children’s play area are all features designed to attract customers to visit Frascati and establish it as a friendly and convenient centre for the Blackrock and surrounding areas of the Southside.”
Among the fashion/footwear outlets is Serena Boutiques, a family-owned, Irish business providing an extensive range of women’s fashion labels, shoes and accessories.
There a number of key retail units still available for leasing which will be supported by extensive marketing both through new internal digitalised systems and social and mainstream media campaigns.
CBRE and Cushman and Wakefield are the joint letting agents for Frascati. The Frascati Centre project is being undertaken by Burlington Real Estate on behalf of Invesco Real Estate, a global real estate investment manager.
Burlington is a leading independent property investment, asset and development management company operating across all real estate sectors in Ireland.
Formed in 2012, Burlington is led by John Bruder and Niall Kavanagh who collectively have over 60 years’ experience in the Irish market.
Invesco Real Estate is a global leader in the real estate investment business with US$80.3bn in real estate assets.