Reply To: Look at de state of Cork, like!
d_d_dallas
Lexington – is that part of Cork facing student accommodation overkill? It seems that end of UCC was bereft for years and suddenly everyone is jumping on the wagon. A student ghetto???
This is a sorta dodgy question. There’s a couple of things you have to realise – the current Cork City Development Plan has strongly emphasised its desire to reclaim city housing for owner-occupiers/families from investor activities related to student accomodation – most of which is centre along the College Road, Connaught Avenue area. Victoria Cross was earmarked as the preferred area for purpose built student accomodation to facilitate the expanding campus which stretches for the ERI on the Lee Road to the Distillery Fields on the North Mall. As the Cork County Hall area is also zoned for high-rise development, and the Section 50 tax designation, developers were approached by UCC who, in line with the development plan, decided to embark on student developments. You have to remember, almost all new student developments – Farranlea Hall, Victoria Lodge, the Spires and the project undertaken by Fleming Construction for the former M&P O’Sullivan Cash & Carry site, currently in appeal, were all undertaken by private developers on behalf of UCC for UCC requirements. Victoria Hall, the Kingsley/Rathmelton Investments development, Cregnane Hall and so on, were undertaken privately. If the development plan succeeds, a satisfactory demand will soak up all these current developments, but as it stands, UCC Accomodations Offices apparently had a hard time filling all these new developments last year. And now that, come this new academic year, bed numbers have doubled, and will triple with Rathmelton Investments and O’Shea Builders developments soon to begin construction. It’s a dodgy development area, but if cards are played right, it may just pay-off. But it’ll be tight. Not every UCC student or family can afford between 3000 and 6000 euros in accommodation every year.
Hey Phil, details of the Bus Station are available in a previous page of this thread – with pictures. It’s nothing to get too excited about. Trust me. More pics available if ya want.
