Griff
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I presume its the roadside railings Frank McDonald is talking about – I dont mind them and they help create a sense of security from traffic as it passes.What I would like to see is all future walkway development have a similar style that is recognised as common to the city.Hopefully also there will be a few quid set aside to keep these spaces maintained.
O Callaghans Stand is looking pretty good imo…Im looking forward to the finished results on Clancys strand.
I like that Coonagh Cross office proposal – it hides the ugly Tesco SC behind it – it also reminds me a little of the office building at the front of the Raheen ind est – still mostly unoccupied after how many years ?
Seemingly the courthouse is going to be moved to a ‘site on Mulgrave St.’… and will be complete by 2011… so says Monday’s L Leader. I assume this is the site on Costelloe’s yard ?. This would be such a good move IMO – right next to the jail. Also frees up the existing courthouse for use as an Opera house/theater. Obvious really – just like bringing Limerick senior soccer back to the Markets field and ,,ahem..constructing the ‘iconic’ building planned for the Limerick boat club site on the Dunnes Sarsfield site instead…
ive been drinking too much coffee…I think its fair to say the boat club site is the highest profile site in the city – certainly its location means that it can be seen from many different vantage points – along the quays/strands and from many offices and hotels. If the building is an eyesore – and that depends on individual opinion – then its going to be the most visible eyesore in Limerick. From my point of view Sarsfield bridge is possibly the best structure we have in the city and Im very unsure if what is being proposed will be a valuable addition…
I agree AQ is a mostly cheap and nasty construction – although the right side of it looking from the park looks OK – perhaps its the trees hiding it. There has been a lot of poor buildings thrown up – River House on Charlottes quay is terrible , take your choice of the rubbish built on John st and the flatlands on the dock road are going to look even worse with lack of maintenance in a few years.
@KeepAnEyeOnBob wrote:
In fairness even a good council would be fairly constrained by the circumstances of having half the city conurbation lying outside the city limits, and more particularly, having the poorer parts of the city.
The no. 1 reason for Limerick failing to pull its weight is the lack of a boundary extension. Raheen and Castletroy should both entirely be within the city, indeed areas such as Newtown, Annacotty and the area out the Fr. Russel Road towards Mungret should be in it (possibly Mungret too, as it would be prime target for Co. Co. development if just outside a revised boundary).
It’s idiotic allowing Limerick Co. Co. to have any say – the detrimental effect to Limerick city of the current situation has held the county back too. Sure the county council might be too poor to run the county well for the medium term, but a more thriving economic hub of Limerick city would bring greater benefits to the county in the longer term.
Well put Bob – I completely agree,the Co.Co have been almost totally responsible for creating the donut effect that has pretty much destroyed trading in the city centre – you cant blame them really – its happened in DublinCorkGalway but without the same consequences for their cities. Rutland St,Patrick St.,O Connel St and especially Sarsfield st look a bit grim to say the least – and if the Opera centre site stays boarded up…..this will be the biggest centre city eyesore in Ireland.Do we really need two councils in Limerick ? – cant we be cute and have one central council for the whole county. We can retain a ‘pretend’ city council to look after say tourism , city centre development & planning , removing bubblegum… let the main Limerick council reside in its fine offices in Dooradoyle ,scap the ridiculous L and Lk car reg and have L only , and extend the boundary as far as possible – in Limerick only – forget Clare,thats a fight not worth getting into.
Whats interesting about this refusal is that the original planning permission for the site would have been granted by the county council… now that its within the city borough its up to the city council to decide on the future of out of town shopping on the north side of the city… presumably the regeration of Moyross was a factor ??.
I see the Masterplan for the regeneration of Limerick has been unveiled..
http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/Master-Plan-for-Limerick-city.4639438.jp
costs are reported as being 3 billion euro – wasnt this 1 billion before ?..@Tuborg wrote:
There are no visible signs of life at the parkway valley site, not a single 1 of the 10 or so cranes on the site is currently in operation. Despite repeated guarantees from the developers that the project is going ahead, no significant construction has taken place over the past 2 months!
The Punches Cross development was suppposed to go to construction back in February, however the site has yet to be cleared and theres nothing to suggest that anything is going to happen for the foreseeable future!
The re-development of the GPO/ Hanging Gardens is continuing, much of the work is currently focused on the new office block backing on to Post Office Lane. The lift shafts are now in place and the buildings skeleton is beginning to take shape. The project is due to be finished in early 2010.
To be a little more accurate..of the 8 tower cranes on the Parkway valley site , only 1 of them has been operational in recent days.. working on a liftshaft close to the Dublin Rd. I was talking to the services engineers last week and they said there is no news as to when ‘proper’ work will recommence there – but as far as they knew it was still going to proceed. There has been so much investment already in the site it would be a tradgedy if it was abandoned now. But in the current climate nothing is certain..
@dave123 wrote:
I thought that development was rejected a few months back:confused: Did they reapply the application of this one, or is this a different app? I’m sure it was the same development brought forward.
Is there any plans available of what is proposed, would like to see them. Glad to see that depressing lot on those pics, to go to be honest. 6 storeys seems good planning aswell, High density is the way to go in the CBD area. It will push land values up and further stimulate investment along the peripherals.
Anything happening with the docklands? Any site around the Riverpoint eamarked for high rise, It would be nice to a cluster of high rise buildings, for working, living and retail combined. Create a real riverside buzz.
Also has Estuary house started, sorry for all the question’s, I haven’t really been around Limerick since last year to have a good nose in to see what’s happening. But right now the city seems to be really still pulling in more redevelopment and investment.
Dave , on the contrary I think there is a serious problem in the core of the city centre – traditional business is really suffering from the out of town shopping centres and for all the talk of plans to regenerate the city centre, the sad fact is people would rather drive their car to a car park in the crescent or childers road than in town… its going be a long time before this trend is reversed…and the ghost-town look of Sarsfield st parts of O Connell St and Patrick st are going to be around for awhile!… on a positive note…this isnt Boston or LA.. a little will go a long way and some of the work already carried out ..for example Bedford Row/Thomas St ..Henry St shows that there is a lot to be happy about.. and we really do have a diamond in the rough in our Georgian buildings…
Also – maybe Im being a bit naive here..but I think local developers like Aidan Brookes and Robert butler seem to have more than self-interest when it comes to their projects… I quite like the Brookes HQ on Henry st and Riverpoint is a lot better than Munchins house!..maybe the curse of St Munchin doesnt apply after all…Thanks for the post/pics Tuborg !.. according to the Leader its a 6 storey deveopment..Id like to see some architects cgi’s of the proposal-how will the 3 storey georgians being retained look? Also seemingly there is going to be 3 levels of below ground parking – thats serious digging in a mature site !.. still it might be a good fore runner for the development of other inner spaces of our georgian blocks – not neccessarily to build on them but to provide off street parking and green space as part of an overall regeneration of a block. BTW – they have put up a big poster at bank place advertising the Opera centre…
@SuperCool wrote:
Good to hear about the cinema.
It’s been way too long.
Right across from where I’m living now too!:pI’ll miss Cafe On The Row too though.
Never a big fan of the food, but I have fond memories of being kicked out for kissing my girlfriend in the back one day.
A school days!:DWhats so bad about kissing your girlfriend’s back ??…
Seemingly Cafe on the Row have had no discussion with the developer regarding the future of their premises..@KeepAnEyeOnBob wrote:
Brown Thomas at least looks a bit better since they painted it, put new windows in and did the work on the canopy. It’s still pretty ugly but it at least doesn’t look quite so depressing and shabby.
Griff – I agree, Café on the Row breakfast on a Sunday is great. I love the interior of it too whatever about the mundane 90s building that it is a unit in. I’d be really sorry to see it go – it’s the kind of place that makes the city centre better than any soulless out of town shopping mall.
Brown Thomas should be knocked (ideally) its a cheap nasty looking building in the centre of town.Sticking on fancy porches and a lick of paint is short term, you cant dress up dross…this should be a flagship department store fitting the centre of a major ( in Irish terms) city… as for penneys/dunnes/roches supermarket….they have destroyed Sarsfield st IMO… cheap and tacky.I dont think knocking the whole block is a good idea unless a seriously high quality development is put in its place – which , lets be fair is unlikley. Id be in favour of retaining the original Roches building – its not great but the best of the lot ,as well as the TSB bank and Martins pub. The chemists next to Dunnes also is not too bad. While Im on this rant, there are many fine buildings in the town – but so many need money spent to maintain them… in an ideal world a few million would be spent on Re replacing all the PVC crap that was put it and fitting new sash windows.. on all georgian buildings from Matthew Bridge to O Connel ave..including the major side strees…
I quite like Cafe on the Row – especially for the all day brekkie on a sunday… be a pity if it has to go in order for the cinema to be built.. speaking of which- I remember well when the Savoy cinema re-opended around…1989 I think – it was fantastic – but between the noise of the bowling balls and the fact that it was actually a cheap and nasty building- the allure soon wore off..but I think going to the cinema in town is a lot more appealing than at the edge of a shopping centre..if only to pop into a real pub for after film banter.
Not to be cutting hairs here or anything but I think it was the 4th tunnel element that was floated and sunk last Sunday.The last element will be fitted at the north end of the tunnel where it passes under the river bank I believe.Construction personel will be able to cross under the river by November. I find it hard to believe that the fit-out and commissioning work will take another 2 years based on the speed of progress to date and I wonder are they being conservative with the program in order to look good if its opened ahead of schedule.
I think the next big change the city needs is the boundary extension..FYI..tonight on CH4 at 9pm..
Kevin McCloud And the Big Town Plan sees regeneration on a huge scale in Castleford
see also the CH4 website…maybe some interesting lessons/ideas for Limerick ?..Also , drove up Sarsfield st yesterday… admittedly it was raining , but this street as a gateway into a city – is a sad sight to behold !..
I presume there is no “vehicular entrance” from Bank Place ?.. That view of it posted above really is desperate… if that represents the quality of the final building then Im not too optimistic !!.. Anybody know what Sisks are building on the left of the Tipperary road going our , opposite B&Q ?
