3 April 2021
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
30 new jobs to be created
Aldi Ireland have announced it will be “bringing the best prices in Irish retail and up to 30 new permanent jobs to Blackrock, Cork City” as it plans to open a second store on Skehard Road. An additional 50 jobs will be created during construction of the proposed new store and development, which will see a substantial investment into the local area.
A planning application will soon be submitted to Cork City Council.
Aldi plans to open the new 1,337sqm store in 2024. It will be Aldi’s second store in Blackrock, with an existing store also on Skehard Road.
The new environmentally friendly store, which will be constructed in Aldi’s award-winning Project Fresh design, will be powered by 100% green electricity, and will include solar panels on the roof of the development. There will also be two electric vehicle charging points for customers to use outside the store, helping to boost Aldi’s strong sustainability credentials.
Ample parking facilities will be provided for customers, whether driving or cycling, as there will be 86 car parking spaces available along with 10 bike parking spaces.
The new Aldi store will be part of a mixed-use development which will also feature 28 residential units and a café. The site will be developed by Lyonshall Ltd.
Commenting, Colin Breslin, Regional Managing Director, Aldi Ireland said: “We are delighted to be announcing our plans for a second store in Blackrock. Our first store in Blackrock opened in 2008 and has been hugely popular with local shoppers. It is one of our busiest stores in Cork!”
“We look forward to investing further in the local Blackrock area and bringing our award-winning products and unbeatable prices to more shoppers.”
Commenting on behalf of Lyonshall Ltd., Kieran Coughlan said: “We are very happy to be working in conjunction with Aldi to increase the provision housing supply and retail competition within the Blackrock area of Cork. Lyonshall will be responsible for the residential units whilst Aldi will build the commercial element. Lyonshall and Aldi have a history of working together and delivering quality developments such as Aldi at Blackrock Hall, Aldi Ballyphehane and the upcoming Aldi Store in Clonakilty”.
Aldi currently operates 23 stores in County Cork. In 2020, Aldi sourced €68.5 million of locally produced food and drink from County Cork based suppliers.
All of Aldi’s Cork stores are deeply involved in their local communities, having donated over 311,000 meals to local charities to date through Aldi’s partnership with FoodCloud. Each store is also part of Aldi’s Community Grants network, with COPE Foundation, Marymount Hospice and Cork Association for Autism among those to avail of the €500 bursary grant in recent times.