KeepAnEyeOnBob
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Going past yesterday it looked like a rough enough job done demolishing the warehouse structure behind the hanging gardens building – looking along the side of it one could see the brickwork quite a bit jagged at the back of the retained structure. The artists impression of the box planned behind it and the post office building is not inspiring.
Good to see that the site on the corner is to be redeveloped – the warehouse type building there at the moment is no loss. At least even if a bit overshadowed by whatever goes on the corner, the hanging gardens building will remain visible enough with the adjoining post office building remaining as it is on the streetfront. It would be good though to see a lower level on the Henry Street side of the corner to match the rest of the block which isn’t changing in height (also I presume the youth centre on the next block isn’t going anywhere soon either). Even four storeys would be better than five – the Hanging Gardens is actually close enough to three storeys rather than just two.
While I too think the Opera Centre could be positive, I have deep forboding about this. It is enough to instill that just the fact of the developer coming back with more grandiose plans than those originally proposed and accepted. It stinks of twisting the council’s arm, as it has become now more a question of “abandoned block” versus whatever they decide to build for the Opera Centre.
If we could, it would be great to just chuck out the Opera plans because of this ploy. Unfortunately, it is a case now of being between a rock and a hard place and there may be little option but to let the developers have their way. Keeping the historic buildings does no good if they are just left unused for decades to disintegrate.
Yep, Henry Street and the quays are a mixed bag but that’s not entirely a bad thing. It’s nice enough, and replaced horrors like Spaights and the Savoy complex. Still think it was a pity the granary building that O’Mahony’s schoolbook and crafts sections used be in got knocked (corner Shannon St./Harvey’s Quay). Had the building been fully restored when O’Mahony’s set up shop there or were they just camping in the bottom two floors?
The ESB building on the next block could do with being knocked and the site developed. It would be interesting too to see the Garda site redeveloped if the guards moved to a larger site (where though?!) Also the Smyth’s warehouse is pretty dreary!
On up Henry Street and onto the Dock Road I think it goes a bit more downhill. I really suspect some of those apartment blocks such as Mount Kennett, Steamboat Quay, even around Radio House, are going to become (more?) ghetto-like.
Actually I think the old restored warehouse is nicely shown up against the Marriot etc. It’s even more of an interesting feature now with it being entirely freestanding and surrounded by the modern buildings.
The boathouse replacement looks monstrous. It would really block the view up the river and detract from the bridge. Surely any replacement should be discreet and at most two storeys in order to be no more obtrusive than the current building. The bridge is the more important feature.
There are now 8 of the large cranes at Parkway Valley. Is the olympic size ice rink definitely going ahead?
Parkpoint the hoarding around the site is mostly down and the small car park/set down area nearly done, just new road lane, footpath and cycle path to do. The small car park is built on what was the old alignment of the Dublin Road – is this still public land or did the developer buy it?
Planning permission notices up at Parkway Shopping Centre, and a front page article in the Limerick Independent – Diarmuid Scully pointing out possible double standards if the city council approves the development. I dunno, maybe not so great to encourage more suburban shopping, but surely the city council getting income would help towards working more on the city centre?
There’s a whole row of “Sold” signs on Patrick Street that have only been up for a couple months. That’s presumably some sign of progress on the Opera Centre.
Is the large building occupied by Midwest Business Institute being retained? I noticed that the Limerick Post moved out of it.
I must say, I hope the Opera Centre works out, and I’m rather curious about it. But it might just be a larger version of Arthur’s Quay – filling that role in the market so to speak if AQ really is to be demolished. That wouldn’t exactly be groundbreaking or transform the city centre retail scene.
@Pug wrote:
what happened thos tram/bus things?
The tram bus things are unlikely to work, because to make proper use of them you need at least a skeleton cheap version of tram infrastructure. I.e. you need longer bus bays, adaptation of junctions to avoid turning problems, bus lanes, automatic ticketing and ticket spot checks (to allow use of rear doors and avoid queues of people buying/validating tickets on-board).
I can pretty much guarantee that Bus Éireann are unlikely to do anything beyond use bustrams as higher capacity buses, either through lack of will on their part, or no resources for them to follow through even if they like the idea of the above (admittedly, despite not regarding BÉ that highly, I would suggest they probably would like them to work and would like proper infrastructure, but aren’t going to get it). Bustrams would therefore have much longer and more problematic loading/unloading at stops and so will probably result in a degradation of service (although on routes where people are left behind at stops currently they may give people a journey at the expense of travel time overall).
I still don’t see why they had to entomb the nice recovered original facade in that boring old glass and cream stone nonsense. Like all the rest of it, the cream stone will just go a disgusting hue of green and black once the Shannon estuary climate and the local pollution gets its teeth in.
A lot of the buildings on Henry St. are already looking depressing and oppressive due to this; e.g. the Dunnes Stores building – lovely black streaks under the features. Even the rather smart BoSI building has nasty marks developing from the ledges near the top.
Sure building owners or occupiers could spend a fortune on cleaning from time to time, though no doubt that would wear down the buildings. However, surely the designers could take local conditions into account. It’s not like it’s a new problem, just look at the “red” brick Georgian buildings. I’m sure any building style will be affected, but cream and white are just asking for trouble, as are ledges with no run-off arrangements for rain.
It’ll be interesting to if the Parkway roundabout is replaced.
However, it doesn’t seem a great idea to have a set down area on the Childer’s Road. Even with the current shopping centre, wouldn’t it have been far better to have slips off the Childers Road and onto the Dublin road from the sides of the car park, so not all traffic has to use the roundabout exit.
A lot of the traffic problems are due to conflicting movements between Childer’s Road->Castletroy and Castletroy-City. Exacerbated in the last year or so by queues back to the roundabout on the Dublin Road from the St. Patrick’s Road traffic lights. Short of adding filters at those lights for left turns in and out of St. Patricks Road (would probably need at least the house on the corner knocked), longer queue box and less frequent phases for right turns in/out of St. Patrick’s Road, there’s little that can be done, and it’s not likely that solution will be pursued.
Anyways, the entire area will be a disaster when the Parkway Valley opens, nevermind the added complications of the second set of lights and traffic at the hotel and retail park.
We’re pretty much doomed, car users as well as bus users.
@Dan Sullivan wrote:
Have you tried googling for information? I’m not running a search engine here.
Sorry, I was just asking out of interest in response to your question. Sure of course I can search for info myself.
CologneMike: I’m a genuine newcomer, sorry to disappoint you!
Re: ParkPoint, have they nabbed the bit of public land beside the building, that the old Dublin Road used to be on (was a footpath/cycle path)? The rendering on the hoarding seemed to show a small car park there. ParkPoint looks reasonable enough, I wonder how it’ll weather though. Also I wonder will they have to pump a lot of water out of the underground carpark each winter when the Groody floods…
justnotbothered:
I was under the impression it was 1930s the current building was built, the original building indeed having been much older. 50s/60s seems very unlikely, there’s no way it was only 20/30 years old back in the 1980s for example.
Dan:
How does the procedure for that work?
Limerick can’t afford to sacrifice any more old buildings, certainly not the decent ones! Is there any organisation who can be contacted about the building?
Hello folks, newbie here. There has been talk of development of the block between Sarsfield Bridge and Arthurs Quay, I saw it had cropped up in this thread.
One question, is there any way that the Debenhams building can be secured for being retained? I’m not any kind of expert, but it’s surely a fine example of 30s architecture, probably about the only one in Limerick, and a landmark building in the city. It looks really good since they painted it for the Roches->Debenhams changeover.
It’s absolutely crazy there’s any talk of knocking it.
Also, does anyone know what the structure being built on the Old Dublin Road at the bottom of the hill beside the high voltage lines is for? Is it some kind of infrastructure for the Parkway Valley on the other side of the Dublin Road proper (e.g. power substation), or is it really a commercial development that close to the power lines?
What is the actual status of this Opera Centre idea? Is it pie in the sky?
How did anyone give permission for the monstrosity of an office block on O’Connell St. opposite the old Co. co. buildings. It’s ugly even just for a modern building, and compounding that it’s plonk in between the Georgian townhouses. I note no-one has moved in even though its been built months. How much on it’s knocked down again inside the next 10 years?
Does anyone else think the new building on Bedford Row would have been nicer with the restored church facade as the building facade proper rather than entombing it in a modern building frame?
