Our Community

Blanchardstown Shopping Centre

History



The Blanchardstown Centre has its genesis in 1972 when Dublin County Council adopted a development plan which provided for the development of three town centres to the West of Dublin, one of these being at Blanchardstown. In the years since the infrastructure has been put in place to provide efficient access to the Blanchardstown area and it's new Town Centre.



Innovative Design



"The Blanchardstown Centre is designed for shoppers. Its layout is aimed at clarity and ease of orientation. It offers a pleasant, naturally lit space, high standards of finishes, lighting, convenience and sophistication"



Achievements



The Blanchardstown Centre was opened on October 16th 1996 by An Taoiseach, Mr. John Bruton. The Centre opened on time, within budget and a very high level of finishes was achieved. 92% of retail units were trading on opening day. The Centre is fully let, it is trading well and is achieving strong customer loyalty. Shopper reaction to the environment and mix of tenants was instantly favourable and retailers have achieved levels of trade far in excess of their original expectations. The Centre is now valued at over 300 million Euros and turnover is approximately 1 billion Euros per annum.



In the first year of operation, the Centre attracted 10 million visitors. The PR launch campaign won the coveted PRCA Award for "Excellence in Communications". Since then the Centre has won a Purple Apple award from BCSC for it's staging of Shaun Davey's orchestral work "The Pilgrim" narrated by Ben Kingsley. Also a Solal Marketing award from the International Council of Shopping Centres and Business through Tourism award from Dublin Tourism.



Click Here to View Awards



Blanchardstown is now regarded as the highest growth region in terms of industrial, commercial and residential projects.



Developments



Apart from its core-shopping element The Blanchardstown Centre has been notable for a number of ground breaking initiatives, primarily the development of nearly 300,000 square feet of retail warehousing. It is acknowledged amongst property professionals that this retail warehousing is the forerunner of its type in Ireland.



A Medical Centre and Service Centre containing a Credit Union and Post Office among other customer facilities also opened in November 1998.



The Leisureplex Entertainment Centre including bowling alleys and a licensed restaurant opened in September 1997.



Fingal County Council library and local offices opened in 2001.



With the benefit of a free site and financial contributions from Green Property Ltd and the EU, the local Arts Committee opened the Community Arts block & Theatre "Draoicht" in 2001.



Green Property Ltd have also donated an Oratory, which opened in March 1998.



Our 3rd department store Penneys, opened 16th October 2001.



Latest Developments: Red Mall & Fashion City



As we move forward, we are aware that the retailers and the visitors have been paramount to the success that The Blanchardstown Centre has achieved to date. Green Property Ltd, its design team and Centre Management knows that this will also be true of the future. We welcome the challenges that lie ahead and look forward to continuing our positive response to visitor demands.



Points of Information



Architects - A & D Wejchert



4th October 1994, construction started



26-month project/ finished in 24 months and under budget



2,000 construction and development workers



2 acres of glass



41,000 trees, shrubs & plants landscaped the 107-acre site



Entire shop frontage equated to Grafton Street



Building area 72,000m² 8 lifts, 6 escalators, 2 travelators and 21 staircases 6,000 tonnes of structural steel, roof 30,000m², 800,000 bricks, 1 million concrete blocks, 260,000 paving bricks, 89,000m² of tarmacadam, 4,000m² of roof glass, 10 miles of drains, 8 miles of ducts and 4,500 drawings.