Premier Inn has announced plans for its first Irish property outside of Dublin, with a 183-room hotel set to open in the south west city of Cork.
The property will be situated at Morrisons Quay on the banks of the River Lee, close to a new events arena currently under construction, and across the river from the forthcoming University of Cork Business School.
Premier Inn currently operates one hotel in Ireland at Dublin airport, but has three city centre properties under development in the capital, including a recently announced hotel within the Castleforbes Business Park in the north docklands area of the city.
The group said it also saw potential for properties in the Irish cities of Galway, Limerick and Killarney, adding that it is “seeking sites as freeholds, leaseholds, office to hotel conversions as well as going concern purchases”.
Commenting on the news Mark Elliott, director of Dublin-based development partner Greenleaf Group, said:
“The proposed development at Morrisons Island is an important regeneration scheme for Cork. It covers a prominent and vacant city block on Morrisons Island.
“The objective behind the proposed development is to re-utilize the existing and protected buildings, which are currently neglected, and create a vibrant new building of the highest quality on the remaining land.
“We hope that the proposal will be well received by Cork City Council and we look forward to working with all stakeholders during the planning and development of the site.”
