Retail: South Dublin's major new shopping centre - due to open in early 2005 - has pulled off a major coup by getting Zara to take space there. Jack Fagan, Property Editor, reports

International fashion retailer Zara has chosen Dundrum Town Centre for its second major outlet in Ireland. The decision will be seen as a major coup for the €250 million south Dublin centre, due to open early next year.

Zara's magnetic appeal has brought unprecedented numbers of shoppers into the Henry Street/Mary Street area (at the expense of Grafton Street) since its first store opened last October in the redeveloped Roches Stores. Since then, every major shopping centre has targeted the giant multiple because of its drawing power and the universal appeal of its fashion.

Mike Shearwood, managing director of the Zara operation in the UK and Ireland, said the decision to open in Dundrum was "an obvious next step after the successful opening in Henry Street".

The company will trade out of a high profile store of 1,644 sq m (17,700 sq ft) located between the anchor tenant, House of Fraser, and Marks & Spencer. Larry Brennan of letting agent Hamilton Osborne King said that Zara would provide a significant boost to the fashion line-up at Dundrum which would now probably be the strongest of any shopping centre in the UK or Ireland.

From the start of the letting campaign, developer Castlethorn Construction has carefully chosen the tenants to ensure that it has a good variety of high quality traders, rather than a repetition of the line-up in most other Dublin centres.

The strategy has paid off handsomely because not only has Castlethorn assembled the most formidable and interesting mix of traders of any Irish shopping centre, but it has seen rents rise steadily, recently breaking through the €3,000 per sq m (€278 per sq ft) barrier for the first time.

More than 80 per cent of the retail space in the 78,965 sq m (850,000 sq ft) has already been committed and there is considerably competition for the remaining units. In addition to the shopping, the centre will have a wide range of facilities including civic buildings, a 200-seater theatre, 78 bedroom hotel, 17,651 sq m (189,993 sq ft) of offices, 59 apartments and a car-park with 2,900 spaces.

With planning permission for 37,160 sq m (399,986 sq ft) of shopping, there are likely to be about 80 individual stores, making it slightly bigger than Jervis Centre.

The joint letting agent is Harrington Bannon.