THE landlord of retail and leisure park The Junction in Antrim has handed over a 110,000 sq ft site to retailer Dobbies to begin fit-out work on its flagship garden centre.
It follows 12 months of redevelopment by Killowen Contracts on behalf of Lotus Property, which saw a number of local construction jobs created and a £10 million investment in the site to prepare it for Dobbies’ arrival to the scheme.
The full-service store will be Dobbies’ second in Northern Ireland and the largest in its UK portfolio, showcasing a rejuvenated store concept with outdoor and indoor plant areas; areas for gardening products, outdoor furniture, pets, gifting and toys, as well as cookshop and home décor; a foodhall, a children’s soft play area and new restaurant and café.
The store is expected to attract a footfall of around a million visitors a year, creating 120 full- and part-time jobs, making it one of the largest employers at The Junction and within the Antrim and Newtownabbey borough.
Alastair Coulson, managing director at Lotus Property said: “There is much excitement ahead of the Dobbies opening later this year at The Junction.
“For many months now, visitors have been able to see the large-scale redevelopment of the site in preparation and we’re thrilled to officially hand it over for Dobbies to begin fit-out.
“This is a really important moment in our journey of creating a stand-out retail and leisure scheme that will bring more footfall to Antrim, benefit the local economy, create jobs and make the area a real destination for people from across Northern Ireland.”
Graeme Jenkins, chief executive of Dobbies - which is the UK’s largest garden centre retailer with 75 stores and 4,000 employees - said: “We’re thrilled to be progressing with fit-out ahead of opening in late autumn.
“Our Junction store will be our biggest, and we’re committed to being a good neighbour during the process both to existing tenants on site, as well as engaging the Antrim community with recruitment events, charity partnerships and school initiatives coming in the months ahead.”
