In the mid-1800s the original 15 stone buildings of the Blackthorn Business Park were built as the stables for the Cavalry Unit of the British army based in what is now Aken Barracks. The Business Centre building itself housed the horse drawn gun carriages and rings for tying the horses can still be seen in some of the walls around the park. The infill, glass & steel, gable fronted units (between the stone buildings) were added later when the property was separated from the Army Barracks to become the Blackthorn Shoe Factory, providing employment for generations of Dundalk people making Army, Garda and Prison Warden boots. As with many of Ireland’s traditional manufacturing industries, Dundalk’s shoe industry declined dramatically in the 80’s and the Blackthorn Business Park as we see it today came into existence slowly as the economy evolved & recovered.  

In 2004, Aidan Harte bought two large units from the late Ken Connolly (Connolly’s Shoes) and, with the assistance of van Dijk Architects developed The Business Centre and was the second business to occupy the business park, after Farrelly Daw White (now UHY). Primarily motivated by wanting a new home for his rapidly growing Optimum Results/ Customer Perceptions businesses, Aidan utilised the rest of the property as a modern serviced office complex.