Limerick Businesses Opening

Mc Love

realdanbreen wrote: »

Seriously! Is there anything opening in Limerick apart from pound shops and cafes? Limerick, from that monstrosity of buildings out near the parkway to the boarded up shops in Rutland/Patrick street must be the most decrepit city in the country.

Go back to the Tipp forum :rolleyes:

pigtown

There's a piece in the Leader about a proposal from Councillor Daniel O'Connell that the council undertake a study to find out exactly why city businesses are closing as opposed to speculating. There was a bit of resistance from the unelected members but the proposal was accepted. The article mentions that the council have no economic officer who focuses exclusively on the city, I wonder do other councils have one?

Edit, sorry possibly wrong thread

davo2001

Mc Love wrote: »

Go back to the Tipp forum :rolleyes:

To be far he's not wrong, I live in Limerick and love the place, but the city centre is a disaster.

Mc Love

davo2001 wrote: »

To be far he's not wrong, I live in Limerick and love the place, but the city centre is a disaster.

Is it though? There is the Gardens International site that is nearing completion. Plans for the Opera Center and for another development across from it. Business has improved in the city since I've started working in it and thats over 2 years.

sioda

The city centre is so far improved to 5 years ago as someone who lives and works in town its light and dark compared to how it was a few years back.
A few late opening cafwouldn't go astray.

realdanbreen

Mc Love wrote: »

Is it though? There is the Gardens International site that is nearing completion. Plans for the Opera Center and for another development across from it. Business has improved in the city since I've started working in it and thats over 2 years.

'plans for the opera center' ?
They've been talking about that for 10 years now. They have been on about the demolishing the derelict buildings near the parkway for another 10 years.
Pretty much all of Rutland street is boarded up. Like I say apart from coffee shops and cheap nail bars there is zilch opening in Limerick.

davo2001

Mc Love wrote: »

Is it though? There is the Gardens International site that is nearing completion. Plans for the Opera Center and for another development across from it.

All stuff that hasn't happened yet.

Cookiemunster

realdanbreen wrote: »

'plans for the opera center' ?
They've been talking about that for 10 years now. They have been on about the demolishing the derelict buildings near the parkway for another 10 years.
Pretty much all of Rutland street is boarded up. Like I say apart from coffee shops and cheap nail bars there is zilch opening in Limerick.

Plans have been published for the Opera Center. €170m has been borrowed to build the Opera Center. It' will be going to ABP for planning in the Autumn.
Rutland St is boarded up because it's part of the Opera Center development.

And who's had plans to demolish Parkway Valley for 10 years? It's privately owned and the owners want to build it out.

Cookiemunster

davo2001 wrote: »

All stuff that hasn't happened yet.

The Gardens International nearing completion hasn't happened yet?

kilburn

campo wrote:

They have taken up two floors in the hanging gardens

3 but still wont have that many staff as reported

geotrig

realdanbreen wrote: »

'plans for the opera center' ?
They've been talking about that for 10 years now. They have been on about the demolishing the derelict buildings near the parkway for another 10 years.
Pretty much all of Rutland street is boarded up. Like I say apart from coffee shops and cheap nail bars there is zilch opening in Limerick.

So ! what do you want to open , retail in general on high streets are still struggling everywhere if you ask me whats opening in other towns ~! id rather i few nice cafes than a few golf shops .

realdanbreen

Mc Love wrote: »

Is it though? There is the Gardens International site that is nearing completion. Plans for the Opera Center and for another development across from it. Business has improved in the city since I've started working in it and thats over 2 years.

The gardens International site is an office block on Henry street. You reckon that solves the problem of the boarded up buildings on Rutland street :rolleyes:

Reputable Rog

geotrig wrote: »

So ! what do you want to open , retail in general on high streets are still struggling everywhere if you ask me whats opening in other towns ~! id rather i few nice cafes than a few golf shops .

A hammock shop or collection thereof would be great.

Glenomra

The fact that there is a market for the myriad of coffee shops, nail bars etc shows that there are plenty of customers in the city. Where realdanbreen is right is the urgent need to broaden the retail offering.

Cookiemunster

Glenomra wrote: »

The fact that there is a market for the myriad of coffee shops, nail bars etc shows that there are plenty of customers in the city. Where realdanbreen is right is the urgent need to broaden the retail offering.

Large retails chains are closing stores left, right and center across the UK. These are the chains that you'd be looking to setup in Limerick. It's unlikely to happen anytime soon in the current climate, no matter what Limerick does.

Cookiemunster

realdanbreen wrote: »

The gardens International site is an office block on Henry street. You reckon that solves the problem of the boarded up buildings on Rutland street :rolleyes:

I assume you missed this post.

Cookiemunster wrote: »

Plans have been published for the Opera Center. €170m has been borrowed to build the Opera Center. It' will be going to ABP for planning in the Autumn.
Rutland St is boarded up because it's part of the Opera Center development.

And who's had plans to demolish Parkway Valley for 10 years? It's privately owned and the owners want to build it out.

Mc Love

realdanbreen wrote: »

The gardens International site is an office block on Henry street. You reckon that solves the problem of the boarded up buildings on Rutland street :rolleyes:

It helps bring people into the city center, which in turn brings business into the center.

keane2097

Types of business therealdanbreen has complained about in this thread in the last year:

New office block
Nail bars
Uber
Coffee shop
Sweet shop
Pop up bookshop
Art & craft shop
Supervalu (lol)
Hooke & Ladder
Barbers
Hairdressers
Fast food outlets
Phone repair shops
Financial services companies
Little cafes
Euro shops
Gadget shops
Bars
E-cig shop
Pastry shop
Cheese shop
Casino

realdanbreen

keane2097 wrote: »

Types of business therealdanbreen has complained about in this thread in the last year:

New office block
Nail bars
Uber
Coffee shop
Sweet shop
Pop up bookshop
Art & craft shop
Supervalu (lol)
Hooke & Ladder
Barbers
Hairdressers
Fast food outlets
Phone repair shops
Financial services companies
Little cafes
Euro shops
Gadget shops
Bars
E-cig shop
Pastry shop
Cheese shop
Casino

Exactly,
I mean where would you be without a gadget shop or an E-Cig shop.:D

zulutango

If you have a lot of traffic on a street, narrow footpaths and a generally unappealing environment, then the rents are more likely to be pushed down and this is great if you want a proliferation of e-cig and gadget shops.

If the Council want streets to become more upmarket then they should close those streets to cars, and make them people-centric spaces. Some are easier to do than others, but there really isn't a need to spend €10 million and go through many years of consultation. Just block the traffic. There'd be a lot of loud resistance from people who want to park outside the door of every shop they go to though. I don't have much sympathy for them. I think more legitimate resistance would come from traders who want to come and go throughout the day or park outside their shops. A solution should be found for them but I don't think it's a reason not to do what is best for the city as a whole.

The Specialist

zulutango wrote: »

If you have a lot of traffic on a street, narrow footpaths and a generally unappealing environment, then the rents are more likely to be pushed down and this is great if you want a proliferation of e-cig and gadget shops.

If the Council want streets to become more upmarket then they should close those streets to cars, and make them people-centric spaces. Some are easier to do than others, but there really isn't a need to spend €10 million and go through many years of consultation. Just block the traffic. There'd be a lot of loud resistance from people who want to park outside the door of every shop they go to though. I don't have much sympathy for them. I think more legitimate resistance would come from traders who want to come and go throughout the day or park outside their shops. A solution should be found for them but I don't think it's a reason not to do what is best for the city as a whole.

Yeah and probably a lot of resistance from normal motorists who just want to drive through the ****ing city without going miles around it.

Pedestrianisation will NOT work in Limerick - there is absolutely nothing in the city centre worth blocking every road for. Fine idea if you want a walk through ghost town which has e-cig & coffee shops, for actual shopping it would just drive everybody else to one of the outer shopping centres. Which is probably the complete opposite of the intended goal of turning the city in to one giant footpath.

zulutango

Nobody is asking for complete pedestrianisation.

The Specialist

zulutango wrote: »

Nobody is asking for complete pedestrianisation.

No but they might as well. When it comes up normally, it's always O'Connell street named for it - the main road through the city.

Cookiemunster

zulutango wrote: »

Nobody is asking for complete pedestrianisation.

In the past you've called for the whole Georgian core to be pedestrianised. That's pretty much full pedestrianisation.

zulutango

If we've any ambition for the city then we shouldn't have a main road through it. There's a better use for the street than as a highway. Traffic can and should be diverted away from it, as is normal in any sizeable city.

It's off-topic, so I won't say anymore, but it is related to the issue of businesses opening and closing.

zulutango

Cookiemunster wrote: »

In the past you've called for the whole Georgian core to be pedestrianised. That's pretty much full pedestrianisation.

I asked for no through-traffic through it and for the streets to be made people rather than car oriented. That's a far cry from pedestrianisation.

realdanbreen

keane2097 wrote: »

Types of business therealdanbreen has complained about in this thread in the last year:

New office block
Nail bars
Uber
Coffee shop
Sweet shop
Pop up bookshop
Art & craft shop
Supervalu (lol)
Hooke & Ladder
Barbers
Hairdressers
Fast food outlets
Phone repair shops
Financial services companies
Little cafes
Euro shops
Gadget shops
Bars
E-cig shop
Pastry shop
Cheese shop
Casino

As for hook & Ladder:mad: Anyone who was left high and dry and owed fortunes from their previous venture must be sickened at the sight of H&L shops around the place.

Vanquished

The Specialist wrote: »

Yeah and probably a lot of resistance from normal motorists who just want to drive through the ****ing city without going miles around it.

Pedestrianisation will NOT work in Limerick - there is absolutely nothing in the city centre worth blocking every road for. Fine idea if you want a walk through ghost town which has e-cig & coffee shops, for actual shopping it would just drive everybody else to one of the outer shopping centres. Which is probably the complete opposite of the intended goal of turning the city in to one giant footpath.

So you feel that the primary purpose of the city centre is to provide a route for traffic to drive through to get to somewhere else?!

That's worked astonishingly well for the last few decades. The city centre is thriving as a result. Sure why would we want to change a thing?!

Is it any wonder it's in the state that it is?!

The Specialist

Vanquished wrote: »

So you feel that the primary purpose of the city centre is to provide a route for traffic to drive through to get to somewhere else?!

That's worked astonishingly well for the last few decades. The city centre is thriving as a result. Sure why would we want to change a thing?!

Is it any wonder it's in the state that it is?!

The fact you infer that a main road through the city is to blame for the fact it's not thriving is laughable. Nothing to do with the over zealous traffic wardens? The over priced car parks? The obscene rents charged on units in the centre? No it couldn't be anything to do with those.

Limerick city needs a lot more fixed before they even think about pedestrianising it. I reiterate again - there is NOTHING in the city centre at present worth shutting road networks for increased pedestrian traffic. Nothing.

pigtown

The Specialist wrote: »

The fact you infer that a main road through the city is to blame for the fact it's not thriving is laughable. Nothing to do with the over zealous traffic wardens? The over priced car parks? The obscene rents charged on units in the centre? No it couldn't be anything to do with those.

People still regularly feel they can park where they like so I don't think the wardens are zealous enough.

On street carparking in
Limerick= €1/hr
Waterford= €1.80/hr
Cork and Galway= €2/hr
Dublin= €2.90/hr
Off street has loads of variables and special offers so comparing them is difficult.

Rents (2016)
Limerick O’Connell Street €279 per sqm
Waterford Broad Street €380 per sqm
Galway Shop Street €761 per sqm
Cork Patrick Street €1,116 per sqm
Dublin Prime Area €5,876 per sqm

The Specialist wrote: »

Limerick city needs a lot more fixed before they even think about pedestrianising it. I reiterate again - there is NOTHING in the city centre at present worth shutting road networks for increased pedestrian traffic. Nothing.

Clearly parking isn't too expensive and rents are pitiful for a supposedly major Irish city. So if price isn't what's holding the city back it must be something else. Limerick has the highest rate of disposable income outside of Dublin but this isn't reflected in the city's retail offering. Attempts to attract new retailers into the centre must take account of the incredibly difficult trading conditions for retailers in this climate. I don't have figures for Ireland but in the UK the following companies have had to close stores;

House of Fraser 31
Debenhams 2 with a possible 10 more
Marks & Spencer over 100 by 2022
Carphone Warehouse 100
Maplin 200 closing as we speak
Carpetright 92
Mothercare 50
Toys R Us 102
New Look 60
BHS 160
Banana Republic 8
Lloyd's Pharmacy 190 sold off or closed

So if rejuvenating the city through retail is a tough ask how do you approach the problem? You need to attract people who will in turn attract business.

We need more people to live in the centre. These people won't decide to move to an apartment in the city because it has an M&S that they can order from online anyway, they'll be influenced by the quality if life on offer.
No garden means we need high quality open space in close proximity. Narrow footpaths with no reason to linger (benches, playgrounds, trees, places to hang out and relax) are not acceptable any more.
Lack of private car parking spaces means we need good quality alternatives: pleasant walking routes, safe cycling paths, reliable bus journeys.

It's a similar story for workers. More people coming to the city everyday to work will have a knock on effect for surrounding businesses. Traffic congestion won't attract companies to the city.

So yes, at present you could argue that there aren't enough people in the city everyday to justify the upheaval some pedestrian measures would have on car traffic but in order to attract them we need to make it a more pleasant place to be. I know people don't like hearing it but cars are detrimental to successful city centres and eventually they will have to go.