Planning permission is being sought for a significant expansion of the West City Centre Office and Retail Park in Galway City.
A planning application has been made by Sodalitas Property Limited to construct a new wing onto the retail park on Seamus Quirke Road.
The current retail park is anchored by Aldi supermarket, with other businesses including food stores, An post, a pharmacy, and a charity shop.
The plans are for an additional single storey retail wing, located to the west of the existing premises and at right angles to it.
The glass fronted retail wing will comprise 1,852m² of gross internal floor area with the existing and proposed blocks being inter-connected by an atrium lobby measuring 230m².
The existing car parking arrangements for the retail park total 305 spaces, split between 163 on the surface and 143 in an underground car park.
However, only the surface car park is currently in use, leaving 143 spaces unused. This development will result in the loss of four surface parking spaces, but it is intended to bring the underground car park back into use.
A decision on this planning application is due from Galway City Council by February 26 of this year.
The council refused planning in January 2023 for a development which would have consisted of this retail wing, but also of 60 new apartments.
Sodalitas sought approval to demolish the first floor offices in the existing building, and construct three new floors of apartments in its place.
These plans were rejected due to concerns about the scale, heigh, and density of the development, and poor integration with the surrounding area.
