Anchor Tenants are the Key

I have been watching the submission comments on the developement of the old Brewery site with interest and note many of the commenst relate to aesthectics, look and feel, environment etc. I am coming form a slightly different angle here and while not playing down the importance of all of these previous submissions,  I feel there is a real once in a lifetime to do something wonderful in Kilkenny. I have wide experience of high tech industry, business startup, academia, and every day I sit in an ofice in Dublin and wonder why this type of activity is not in Kilkenny.  It can be. My main points as follows;

1. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to bring business to Kilkenny that we have long been lamenting the absence of.

2. We need to think Big about this Abbey Quarter Site re-development i.e. not same old same old....

3. Anchor Tenants are the key to the success of this whole venture... if we can land one or two high end technology/R&D/Consulting tenants here it will spawn an ecosystem around it and that will create an "engine" of economic prosperity in Kilkenny

4. Please Please Please do not place a University of the South East here!!! While a University of the South East would be broadly welcomed in Kilkenny, this is not the right site for it. Other sites (such as St. Canices Hospital) are more suitable). We have had a fixation in KIlkenny over the years that a University is the magic solution to Kilkennys heretofore lack of industrial prowess... I can tell you .. It isnt!

5. My vision of this site is similar to the Grand Canal Dock re-development in Dublin - of course on a much smaller scale. But this is the ambition we must set out with! Start from the end and work back.

6. We know well that the IDA have not been very active in regards to showcasing Kilkenny over the years, we need to get them 100% behind this initiative to help us showcase teh Quarter and find these key anchor tenants. We should hold them accountable for this and request regular data on numbers of clients visits etc. This could be done at County Council development meetings. This is important!

6. Finally, Dublin is bustring at the seems, employees and employers extremely frustrated and looking for nice places to work and live. We have (or will have) a world class option for them... Les target key anchor tenants though at the rest will spin out around it. Think BIG and lets do it right.

Dr. Joseph Dalton