Limerick improvement projects

zulutango

I would certainly agree that the city is on the up. I think a lot of that is down to the fact that a few big employers have been persuaded to set up in the city centre. It's having a very direct knock-on effect on the economy of the centre, and that's why we're seeing many new businesses and the fastest rising rents and property prices in the country.

Cookiemunster

zulutango wrote: »

What happens if An Bord Pleanála put a stop to their plans? Also, who repays the loans if the plan fails (assuming it goes ahead)?

I would assume that these loans, while signed off haven't actually been drawn down. Like a mortgage, you get signed off, but don't actually draw down the money until it's time to purchase the property, or in this case pay the developer. The EIB and the CEB seem happy enough with the business plans the council have shown them.

Cookiemunster

Some promising noises about city center residential and the Opera project in the Leader.
https://www.limerickleader.ie/news/home/292582/positive-announcements-expected-on-limerick-housing-while-opera-site-gets-full-backing.html#.WmI-gMb3Fd4.twitter

The relevant quotes - "LIMERICK council CEO Conn Murray has said he expects to have “positive announcements” to make on residential developments in the city centre in the coming months.

And

This Wednesday, the Council said that in the evening time, the site will be transformed into a “bustling destination complete with restaurants, bars and open entertainment spaces” – perhaps putting to rest fears the area could become a ‘dead zone’ post-6pm.

D Trent

What's the latest with the bridge linking Arthur's Quay and Clancy strand ?
And the old Dunnes beside Sarsfield bridge ?

zulutango

No doubt he's talking about the Cleeves site. There's a masterplan being developed for that at the moment and I suspect it will include a large residential element. They're going full steam ahead with the daft Mungret plan too.

mdmix

looking forward to seeing the cleeves site plans. hopefully a mixed use development with event centre, hotel, office and residential. the opera site was underwhelming tbh, and while not a complete disaster, certainly a missed opportunity. hopefully the council have had the wakeup call they needed.

colm_mcm

mdmix wrote: »

looking forward to seeing the cleeves site plans. hopefully a mixed use development with event centre, hotel, office and residential. the opera site was underwhelming tbh, and while not a complete disaster, certainly a missed opportunity. hopefully the council have had the wakeup call they needed.

Can't help thinking it’ll be another Lord Edward St (Taits factory) type development.

pigtown

I think it's inevitable that residential will be included in the Cleeve's site.
As far as I know permission has been secured for the conversion of the Clarion Suites into over 100 apartments and houses.
Mungret has capacity for 850 residences.
Countless apartments can be and are being converted on the upper floors of existing buildings throughout the city.
There's a huge potential site just beside the Opera site; the former Instore building, the derelict carpark next to it, the surface car park across the street, along with all of the buildings on the market side of that block (I think the only businesses are The Office bar and Angel Lane nightclub). There're also a lot of surface car parks along Upper Denmark Street. Surface carparks have absolutely no place in a modern city.
Another possible site is the surface carpark beside the old eircom building on Roches St.
One that Limerick 2030 could easily do themselves is the conversion of the revenue building into apartments. They could structure it so that the revenue move into the first office block to be completed and then their current offices could be converted alongside the newer offices so that when new companies and workers arrive they can live across the street.

Vanquished

The 'market quarter' is an embarrassment as it stands. It's a mix of dilapidated/derelict buildings and vacant sites. A targeted action plan is needed to revive the area as many of those sites have been derelict or vacant for decades. As you say it's an ideal area to develop high quality, high density apartments given its proximity to the proposed office buildings on the 'opera site'.

The Cleeves site offers huge potential for high density residential too. There is a large site next to the Shannon bridge that is perfect for a 20-25 floor residential tower. The views up and down the Shannon would be superb as well.

That eir car park is an outrageous waste of a large valuable city centre site. It could accommodate a significant amount of apartments. The old granary complex just down the street is another hugely underused site. It could be converted in to attractive apartments also just like the mill building at the corner of Henry Street and Shannon Street.

Tefral

pigtown wrote: »

As far as I know permission has been secured for the conversion of the Clarion Suites into over 100 apartments and houses.

84. And its starting next month.

godfrey

Glenomra wrote: »

City centre locations like the opera centre will attract businesses much quicker than out of town ones.

And this is based on what, exactly? Where's the parking for staff? Where's the accommodation for staff?

Have you noticed how most of the big employers are not in the city centre? And don't bother citing Uber - that's only one, and it's not that big an employer on the general scale of things, and the same problems exist for it's employees.

Accommodation must be developed alongside commercial opportunity, and more so.

g

Cookiemunster

godfrey wrote: »

And this is based on what, exactly? Where's the parking for staff? Where's the accommodation for staff?

Have you noticed how most of the big employers are not in the city centre? And don't bother citing Uber - that's only one, and it's not that big an employer on the general scale of things, and the same problems exist for it's employees.

Accommodation must be developed alongside commercial opportunity, and more so.

g

That might just have something to do with the fact that there isn't anywhere in the city for them to locate....... An issue due to be solved by developments like the Hanging Gardens, Opera Center and (hopefully) Bishops Quay development.

zulutango

godfrey wrote: »

And this is based on what, exactly? Where's the parking for staff? Where's the accommodation for staff?

Have you noticed how most of the big employers are not in the city centre? And don't bother citing Uber - that's only one, and it's not that big an employer on the general scale of things, and the same problems exist for it's employees.

Accommodation must be developed alongside commercial opportunity, and more so.

g

Northern Trust wanted to move into the city centre, apparently, but couldn't because there was nowhere suitable for them. And the IDA is saying we need a lot more modern office space in the city centre. And even UL wanted to move a faculty into the centre, but the lack of a decent transportation link between Castletroy and the city is what led to them pulling the plug on their plans. But, yes, there needs to be a bit of planning as to where all these city centre office workers are going to live. If it's in the suburbs or beyond, there'll be only a limited benefit to the city centre (as well as a major transportation headache) but if we provide city centre residential accommodation options then there's multiple benefits to the centre. The latest on the rumour mill is that the developer of the large Bishop's Quay project wants to change it to a fully residential project. I don't have a reliable source for that info though, so maybe others can shed some light on it.

tommy249

Any update on the Bishops Quay development? It has gone very quiet over the last 6 months. Will it ever be built?

Reputable Rog

tommy249 wrote: »

Any update on the Bishops Quay development? It has gone very quiet over the last 6 months. Will it ever be built?

Waiting to confirm M&S and Five Guys as ground floor tenants, and LMR on the first floor.

bigpink

Lord Edward street housing officially opened today wonder how they will be given out

Cookiemunster

bigpink wrote: »

Lord Edward street housing officially opened today wonder how they will be given out

They've already been given to tenants of the councils waiting list. https://www.limerickpost.ie/2017/12/19/new-life-into-limerick-city-centre/

bigpink

Thought it was all for seniors.Strange giving a young couple a low cost house

phog

bigpink wrote: »

Thought it was all for seniors.Strange giving a young couple a low cost house

Very strange indeed, why would a young couple want a low cost house :rolleyes:

Poxyshamrock

I see the council has applied for permission to redevelop the flats on the corner of Mary Street and Creagh Lane. They want to turn them from 6 1-bedroom apartments to 3 2-bedroom apartments. Always thought that’d be an easy site to revive. Not sure why they were ever derelict to be honest.

pigtown

Not sure if it's been mentioned but UL have applied for permission to build a new student centre between the Stables and the library

zulutango

pigtown wrote:

Not sure if it's been mentioned but UL have applied for permission to build a new student centre between the Stables and the library

Let's hope they do a better job than they did 20 years ago when they built the current student centre. They might get an architect this time.

Vanquished

It's interesting that they've changed the location of the new student centre. It was originally to be built between the concert hall and the computer science building. Now it's to be sited on what's currently a small car park between the stables complex and the Library lawn.

Tefral

If anyone wants to see the layouts etc of the Hanging Gardens have a look here:

http://gardenslimerick.com/floor-plans/#floorplan-basement

dominatinMC

Tefral wrote: »

If anyone wants to see the layouts etc of the Hanging Gardens have a look here:

http://gardenslimerick.com/floor-plans/#floorplan-basement

The renderings of the finishing article on the website are fairly impressive tbf. I think it looks really good, the blend of the old buildings on Henry St., with the modern development in the interior, is eye-catching. The website itself looks very professional, lets hope it fulfills its purpose and attracts investors!

zulutango

The standard of design is vastly superior to what local architects Healy Partners and developer Robert Butler were going to do 10 years ago. Limerick Twenty Thirty and the Council deserve credit for getting a very reputable firm such as Carr Cotter Naessans on this job. This is the standard of design that we should demand in Limerick and the local developers and architectural firms must up their game. Anything less isn't good enough.

I see that with Paul O'COnnell / J.P. McManus's International Rugby Experience, the architect picked is Niall McLaughlin, whose work is indisputably excellent. It's a first for modern Limerick to get this quality of designer (with the exception of UL Medical School by Grafton Architects).

Tefral

dominatinMC wrote: »

The renderings of the finishing article on the website are fairly impressive tbf. I think it looks really good, the blend of the old buildings on Henry St., with the modern development in the interior, is eye-catching. The website itself looks very professional, lets hope it fulfills its purpose and attracts investors!

Im working on it at the moment and to be fair the attention to detail is excellent. Alot of the new build in the stairs is exposed concrete and we have to bury the containment for all the services in the walls so its not chased or exposed. All you will see it the fitting.

Vanquished

zulutango wrote: »

The standard of design is vastly superior to what local architects Healy Partners and developer Robert Butler were going to do 10 years ago. Limerick Twenty Thirty and the Council deserve credit for getting a very reputable firm such as Carr Cotter Naessans on this job. This is the standard of design that we should demand in Limerick and the local developers and architectural firms must up their game. Anything less isn't good enough.

Without a shadow of a doubt. I think it's the combination of high standard contemporary design and the sensitive restoration of significant historical buildings that mark this project as a success. I see that the ground floor of the new corner building at the Henry Street/Glentworth Street junction is earmarked for retail space. I wonder will they change this to cafe/restaurant use considering that part of Henry Street isn't exactly a hub of retail activity.

I hope they upgrade the footpaths and lighting around that block too. They're both dreadful at the moment. It would definitely complement the new development.

zulutango

There's a case to be made for removing one or even two traffic lanes from Henry Street and widening the footpaths, even if it's only on that particular block. The left and right turning lanes aren't absolutely necessary. A better job could be done of the bus stop too.

Cookiemunster

zulutango wrote: »

There's a case to be made for removing one or even two traffic lanes from Henry Street and widening the footpaths, even if it's only on that particular block. The left and right turning lanes aren't absolutely necessary. A better job could be done of the bus stop too.

They definitely don't need to reinstate the lane that's closed anyways. It currently works fine with out it.