Ambitious new plans for former Texas centre site

These are the first glimpses of plans for a major multi-million euro redevelopment of the former Texas Shopping Centre in Athlone. A planning application for the ambitious project will soon be submitted to Athlone Town Council. The new centre, set to be named The ARC, envisages a 200,000 square-foot multi-level retail development. Proponents of the scheme believe it will complement the existing Athlone Towncentre, Golden Island and Dunnes Stores centre and reinforce the entire Athlone retail quarter. The project is the brainchild of retailer Tom 'Texas' McNamara and the Tullamore-based company Axis Architecture. Mr McNamara owns the Irishtown site and operated the now-closed Texas department store there. Patrick Little, architect and MD of Axis Architecture, designed the new retail centre with Mr McNamara. Both believe that there"s no time like the present to capitalise on the current drop in construction prices while boosting the local economy. But the development, if granted, may also be good news for some retailers currently struggling to keep up with rent payments. Mr Little expects that the rental values in the proposed ARC will be in the region of up to 50% cheaper than existing values. This will open opportunities for retailers to enter the market at a sustainable level. 'One might expect that the current climate would end all development, however this is not the case. Retailers will need to shift and adapt to the emerging market. Creative thinking will be used to exploit the gaps that are now beginning to appear in the market,' he said. 'By utilising the existing site to its fullest potential the development can provide for a much reduced rental value without the need to recover expensive site costs. It will also benefit from the reduction in construction costs making it an extremely competitive retail offer.' Mason Owen Lyons have been appointed agents for the development.