Rushmere Shopping Centre
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 | |
| Location | Craigavon, County Armagh, Northern Ireland |
|---|---|
| Opening date | 21 September 1976 |
| Owner | Killahoey Ltd |
| No. of stores and services | 65 |
| No. of anchor tenants | 1 |
| No. of floors | 3 (only one floor has stores) |
| Website | https://www.rushmereshopping.com |
Rushmere Shopping Centre (formerly known as the Craigavon Centre) is a shopping centre in Craigavon, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, opened in 1976. The anchor tenant of the centre is Primark.
History
[edit]On 21 September 1976, Rushmere opened to the public as the Craigavon Centre, and the anchor tenants were Dunnes Stores and Crazy Prices.
In 1998, the Craigavon Centre reopened as Rushmere as part of a major expansion which saw a Sainsbury's store open.[1] The site was expanded again in 2004 with Debenhams opening as the main tenant in a 150,000 sq ft extension of the centre.[2]
During the early 2020s, Rushmere had a major drop in footfall and tenants resulting in the closures of Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Debenhams and Sainsbury's, this was mainly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, the company behind Rushmere, Central Craigavon Ltd was placed into administration, Killahoey Ltd brought the struggling shopping centre from the company. In the same year, Primark opened on the ground floor of the former Debenhams.[3][4]
In 2023, Rushmere began a redevelopment scheme, with a first phase seeing MINISO, Subway and Waterstones as new tenants.[5] Phase 2, which includes the overhaul of the west and north entrances, new ceiling and floor touches and a new JD Sports store in part of the former Sainsbury's supermarket, will be completed by July 2024.[5][6] Phase 3, which includes the rest of the former Sainsbury's supermarket being converted into two more stores and three restaurant units, a gym and office space, is expected to be complete by the end of 2024.[7] A new Lidl supermarket is also planned.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ Morton, Robin (10 March 1998). "Sainsbury pays over £1m for drink licence". Belfast Telegraph.
- ^ "Development round-up". Estates Gazette. 2 October 2004.
The 150,000 sq ft extension to the centre will open on 21 October, taking the centre's total size to 450,000 sq ft. The centre, which has a capital value of £95m, provides a mix of mall shopping and a retail park with free parking.... The extension, will house anchor tenant Debenhams in a 82,000 sq ft store and further 12 stores.
- ^ "Craigavon's Rushmere shopping centre sold to Killahoey Ltd". BBC News. 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
- ^ "Doors open at new Primark store in Rushmere Shopping Centre - Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council". 2022-12-16. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
- ^ a b "Rushmere: £10m redevelopment of retail centre reaches milestone". The Irish News. 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
- ^ "Thirty jobs in pipeline as JD Sports set to triple in size at Rushmere Shopping Centre". Armagh I. 2024-03-25. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
- ^ "Rushmere owners launch bid to revive former Sainsbury's unit with six shops and restaurants". The Irish News. 2024-06-18. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
- ^ "Plans submitted for new Lidl store next to Rushmere Shopping Centre". Armagh I. 2024-02-12. Retrieved 2024-07-10.