Nearly 1,000 Limerick homes planned in 'one of Ireland's most ambitious projects'
The first new houses in the Mungret development could be ready by 2021.
ALMOST 1,000 NEW homes are to be built as part of a major new development in Limerick.
Limerick Twenty Thirty announced this morning that 850 houses are to be developed on a 60-acre site in Mungret.
If the site, which is located on the grounds of the former Mungret College and associated buildings, is built on as planned it would accommodate one of Ireland’s largest new developments.
The first phase of the work is expected to be completed by end of 2021. It is anticipated that about 200 housing units will be completed by the end of this stage.
The plan is to develop the site in parallel with the Opera House site in the middle of Limerick city centre. Here several large commercial buildings that could hold thousands of workers are to be built.
It has not yet been decided who will build the houses. Limerick Twenty Thirty will first draw up the masterplan for the Mungret site and make sure planning is in place before it is decided how exactly the land will be developed.
Limerick Twenty Thirty is a special purpose vehicle created and owned by Limerick City and County Council tasked with building infrastructure in the region.
Ambitious
In a statement, the organisation said that the site has recently received funding approval for a road through Mungret via the state’s local infrastructure fund.
“(This) will unlock substantial lands within public and private ownership and trigger the development of additional residential sites,” it said.
“(Limerick Twenty Thirty) will now, in conjunction with Limerick City and County Council, embark on the creation of a detailed masterplan that maximises land use at the site.
“This will be followed by a planning process for the medium- and long-term development of the site, which will comprise private as well as social housing.”
Part of the site in Mungret
Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Stephen Keary said that the Mungret development is “one of the most ambitious housing projects in the state”.
“Limerick is emerging as a city of real scale and one that will play a key role in the much-needed rebalancing the national economy,” he said.
The announcement of the major housing development follows after criticism that the plans to develop the Limerick Opera site in the city centre do not include any provisions for residential housing.
The council said in 2015 that the site would be a mix of office, retail, residential and educational units. However, it emerged in plans announced for the site in June that it would be almost entirely commercial.
