New Limerick student accommodation, to house over 300 people, has been approved by An Bord Pleanála.
The facility will be designed to meet accommodation needs of Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick and Limerick Institute of Technology, now and into the future.
Cloncaragh Investments Ltd will build the apartments.
The proposed development is located at Punches Cross “and will transform and regenerate this vacant and idle site helping to address Limerick’s housing need and also meet student accommodation needs in the city”.
Speaking about the development, Derrick Walshe of Cloncaragh Investments said: “This is a positive day for Limerick city that will now mean that an idle and vacant brownfield site will be regenerated into a positive for our city.
“This is the second time we have submitted plans for this site. While we were disappointed that the original plans did not get approved; we took on board ABP’s recommendations, and reviewed our plans in respect of the Environmental Impact Assessment and the associated site management plan for dealing with the lands. We are pleased that ABP now agrees with our proposals and that the development can now proceed, subject to conditions.
“We are also grateful to the residents of Punches Cross and local public representatives who took the time to engage with us during this process and at the online public meeting which we held. We are committed to continuing to work with these key stakeholders during this project to minimise disruption.
“This development will see 100 quality apartments delivered, which will accommodate over 300 residents. By adding this housing stock, it will help to ease the housing pressure in the vicinity; by increasing housing supply and helping to make rents and housing more affordable.
“Mary Immaculate College is located in close proximity to the proposed development. The college is supportive of this project as it will allow for students to live close by in quality fit for purpose accommodation. Mary Immaculate College is a well-recognised and growing third level educational institution whose reputation attracts students from all over Ireland and internationally and it is important that they have appropriate accommodation available to meet their needs. The University of Limerick also plans to develop a campus on Sarsfield Street and this will also feed into the demand for this accommodation type. This development in time, may also assist University Hospital Limerick with their accommodation needs.”
