"Dundrum Town Centre" is the name of a shopping centre located in Dundrum, Dublin,
Ireland. It is Ireland's largest shopping centre with over 160 tenants, more than 80,000 square metres of floor space and over 3,400 car parking spaces. One of
Europe's largest capital city-based shopping centres, it is located just south of the town centre of Dundrum, on the site of the former Pye television factory which later became Dundrum Bowl which closed down due to flooding in the early 1990's. Since opening, over 70 million people have visited Dundrum Town Centre.
Opening Day
Dundrum Town Centre was opened on Thursday morning, 3 March 2005. Over 5,000 people queued in the main square. Local clergy blessed the centre before the opening.
Phases
The second phase of the centre opened in September 2005. On 23 September 2005 the first Irish branch of Harvey Nichols opened. This is the anchor for a "fashion district". A cinema - Movies@Dundrum - opened on 30 September 2005. A third phase included the addition of more retail units, several restaurants, a theatre (The Mill Theatre Dundrum), a health centre and apartments. In 2008 the Pembroke District opened along with Dundrum South. The Pembroke district is home to tenants such as Hamleys of London( the first Hamleys outside of London) and Gant, and many other restaurants such as The Counter,Nandos,Wagamama and The Porthouse. Dundrum South is home to tenants such as Elverys,Hughes and Hughes and Snow and Rock.
The massive developement of the second phase of the centre was to have begun by now,although because of the recession and debts of the owner, it will be some time before any construction of phase 2 will begin. The second phase involved the demolition of the old Village Centre, and was to include more retail units, a library,apartments,offices,restaurants and cafes and a hotel.
Name
"Dundrum Town Centre" was originally a local government term, defined by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, before the shopping centre was built. It was described as "the area between the Luas line, the Dundrum Relief Road, the Taney Rd./Upper Churchtown Rd. junction and the Wyckham By-Pass Route. It is mainly zoned for Town Centre uses, but with some parts zoned residential." The shopping centre was built under the provisions of the Urban Structure Plan for Dundrum Town Centre.
2011 Flood
Dundrum Town Centre was evacuated shortly before 8pm on 24 October 2011 after floodwaters surged through the doors. The owner of a Mexican restaurant in the complex said five-feet of water had rushed down steps towards his business, causing thousands of euro worth of damage.
Tenants
Dundrum lists over 160 tenants ranging from high fashion to restaurants to a cinema. Some of the larger retail tenants include Tesco Ireland, Marks and Spencer, House of Fraser, Next, Harvey Nichols, Hollister Co., Penney's,Hamleys of London and Movies@Dundrum . Tesco also operate a petrol station at the shopping centre. A full list of tenants is available on the shopping centre's website.
Parking
There is no free parking at the centre, and a fee is charged for both the Tesco surface car park, and the underground car parks. Tesco provide a limited period of free parking (2 hours) if €30 is spent in the supermarket and the parking ticket is presented at the checkout.
Opening Hours
Most shops in the centre are usually open 09:00 - 21:00 Monday to Friday (some open until 21:30), 09:00 - 19:00 on Saturdays and 10:00 - 19:00 on Sundays. The cinema and many restaurants, cafés and bars in the Town Square and Pembroke District are open much later, as is McCabe's Pharmacy which is open until 23:00 daily. Tesco is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - as is its petrol station.
In December, opening hours are extended in almost all stores, with the centre open from 08:00 - 00:00 on weekdays before Christmas.
