On Tipperary Mid West Radio Alan Kelly TD and Emma Pillion of Corrajio Ltd (the company that owns Sky Innovation Park) were interviewed about the Park. Listeners were assured that the Park is "ready to go" and being promoted by the IDA. Photos taken today on a visit to the Park might suggest otherwise. Also, the Park does not yet appear on the IDA's online Property Portfolio. Click below for more photos.
A visit to the Park today showed conclusive proof that, far from being ready for visits conducted by the IDA, it is in fact a fully utilised active warehouse. A number of staff appear to work there, involved in warehousing activity. Photos taken show some of the warehouse contents. Listeners to the TMWR programme were told that Corrajio had purchased a separate property elsewhere in the country to cater for their warehousing needs. However, their warehousing appears to be happening in Sky Innovation Park. The site is definitely not vacant and is in active use. This might impact on the ability to show the premises to prospective investors. Indeed, it would be difficult to see how interior photographs could be taken to promote the premises.
One person who spoke to the writer said that he did not see any differences to the building over the past year, despite announcements that "over a year and a half of work on changing the former retail site into an industrial/innovation site to attract inward investment" (source: Tipperary Star 8 October 2018).
The Tipperary Star article goes on to state "There has been a huge amount of work and the costs of the work have been born exclusively by the owners of the site". Emma Pillion of Corajio is quoted as saying Corajio "invested significant sums in bringing the building up to IDA standards. We purchased an alternative warehouse for our company stock and we have produced all the necessary fit outs required to make the building ready for a potential investor or investors to come in very quickly.
Interior walls in the warehouse areas appear to be unpainted. Some photos show parts of the Park that appear unfinished or in poor repair. Part of the announcement stated that a "site clean-up" had taken place. Some of the photos below would appear to contradict that.
Although Alan Kelly invited people to go and have a look at the Park, our photographer was challenged by two staff members when he visited.
The assurances given about the readiness of the park do not appear to be supported by today's photographs.
For any information or clarification about this article, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
