Architects reveal plans for landmark Ritz Cinema transformation in Ballybofey

Hopes are high that construction on the SEED project in Ballybofey will commence in the near future.

The iconic Ritz Cinema building on the Main Street is to be transformed into a new enterprise hub.

McCabe Architects have shared their design of the refurbished and extended Ritz building.

The project is now at tender stage to secure a main contractor and, subject to a successful appointment, works are expected to commence in the near future.

McCabe Architects said: “The SEED Project will involve the careful conservation of its distinctive mid-20th-century International Modern street façade, complemented by a new three-storey rear extension. 

“This adaptive re-use development, when completed, will provide a vibrant enterprise hub, designed to support business growth and innovation.”

This project aims to bring jobs, activity, and renewed ambition to the area and represents the first phase of a wider regeneration initiative, which will also include a new multi-storey car park and enhanced public realm works in Ballybofey.

Last September, the green light was given for the project - a part of phase one of the €10 million Ballybofey-Stranorlar Regeneration Strategy - to go ahead to the tender stage.

The poject was launched in 2021, but has been beset with delays, in the main over an appeal against a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO).

The Ritz building is listed on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) and was designed by John McBride Neill, a noted cinema architect.

Several years ago, an online campaign, Save the Ritz from being blitzed’ was launched in a bid to save the iconic building from the bulldozers. After hundreds signed a petition, Donegal County Council refused a proposal to raze the building, saying: “The building forms an important part of the streetscape and built fabric of the town at this location.”

The Ritz opened as a cinema in 1946 and served that purpose until 1982 when it became home to the Balor Arts Centre, which moved to a new building only a few doors away in 2008.

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The NIAH says of the building: “Although somewhat dilapidated, this striking building represents a rare example of its type and date in Donegal, and is an integral and eye-catching element of the architectural heritage of Ballybofey, adding variety to the streetscape to the east end of the centre of the town.”