U.S. Group to Help Build Development in Ireland

Flanked by Irish and British officials and Cardinal Bernard Law, Mayor Raymond Flynn announced on Thursday what was called the largest American investment ever made in Northern Ireland--a $100-million shopping center in the economically depressed city of Derry.

Groundbreaking will begin next fall on the 300,000-square-foot complex, which is expected to provide about 1,400 jobs in office, service and construction, Flynn said. The shopping center is expected to open in 1992 and will double the retail space in the city, he said.

“We’re all keenly aware of the trouble in Northern Ireland,” said Flynn. “But today, what is happening in America is very special. We’re reaching out and bringing a new kind of hope, one that transcends words. It brings jobs and economic opportunity.”

The project stems from Boston Ireland Ventures, a nonprofit group founded in 1987 by Flynn and Northern Irish political leader John Hume. The group was formed to spur economic growth in the north and west of Ireland. Hume is leader of the Social Democratic and Labor Party, representing moderate Catholics in Northern Ireland.

Derry, the second-largest city in Northern Ireland, is one of the poorest areas in the country, with an unemployment rate in some sections at 45%.

“This is the essence of cooperation,” said Liam Canniffe, consulate general of Ireland. “They are welcoming you on the streets of Derry. There are great ties between America and Ireland and now there are great ties between Derry and America.”

British consulate general Philip McLean called the plan for the shopping center a “wonderful Christmas present for Derry and the whole of Northern Ireland. The whole atmosphere on the streets of Derry has changed this week.”

After 18 months of negotiations between the British government, which rules Northern Ireland, Quincy-based O’Connell Development Co. agreed to build the complex. The company’s other projects include waterfront complexes such as the World Trade Center and Bayside Exposition Center in Boston and the Marina Bay complex in Quincy.

In a prepared statement from Derry, Hume called the announcement “the best job news for the Derry area in the past 20 years.”

The project, which will be located near the Guild Hall and the city’s waterfront, will include:

- About 260,000 square feet of retail space, anchored by the 45,000 square-foot Marks and Spencer department store, a large British retail chain.

- A multistory parking facility for 1,200 vehicles.

- About 60,000 square feet of commercial space.