Tuborg

Why dont you just have me prosecuted for infringing your copyright so if it makes you happy!, seen as you seem to own every photo that was ever taken of limerick!

Also what exactly does your little gimmick of an archive prove?, it just brings you back to the same page all the time. Maybe i’ve got the website address wrong, it was a long time ago after all but there was definately a limerickcity dot something website going for a couple of years, i got piles of photo’s from it including some very rare ones from the 50s and 60s!

Just so i can sleep easy tonight, do you have any problem with the last picture i posted, do you want to shake your head and sigh some more or perhaps even “berate me”?

Its good to see most people have a bit of sense on this site, the design of the new strand hotel is a disgrace and totally out of character with the rest of the buildings in this area!,anyone who thinks otherwise are just kidding themselves, no wonder we have such mediocre developments cropping up if thats the attitude some people have! i know the pic isnt the best, i found it on altavisata shane,its a image search engine, that was all i could find on the web, no decent plans of the exact layout of the site or anything, i dont think the strand even have a website, its just very dissapointing that they can get away with such an unimaginative design in such a prominent location, somebody’s obviously not doing their job properly in city hall!By the way Maskhadov, the development has started,its been going on for around 2 months at this stage, supposedly due to open in late 2006/early 2007,cant see it myself but i spose seen as it looks like its basically made from lego we should’nt be surprised!

@justnotbothered wrote:

Hmm Tuborg, reading boards.ie again?

Also justnotbothered i dont know what you’re getting at here, i’ve never even heard of boards.ie, would you like to explain this comment?

I guess theres just no pleasing some people eh Shane;) , i suppose it will all depend on how we feel about it in 10 or 20 years time, hopefully it will age well, in all fairness though i think its a massive improvement on the rest of the buildings we’ve seen on the quays in recent years,most of em are pretty forgettable!

@ShaneP wrote:

the overall state of the footpaths does create a fairly unloved look about the place – however I imagine that the city council are waiting til the Shannon Tunnel is complete before embarking with their extensive plans for improving the streetscape in 2009. Bedford Row and Baker Place are just test runs in this regard.

The paving on o connell street is pretty abysmal, very, very dull, it looks desperate on a dreary day, its frustrating that work wont begin until phase 2 of the ring road is finished but hopefully it’ll give the planners more time to come up with a proper masterplan, one that is fitting for such an important thouroghfare. The Shannon tunnel is scheduled to start in the spring, i wouldnt be at all surprised if thats pushed back until the autumn, its quite a complex route, a lot of difficult terrain to negotiate, including bunlicky lake, theres also a major interchange on the cork road at rossbrien, it will be at least 3 years in construction which means that it’ll probably be another 5 years before we see a new o connell street,:eek: , lets hope it’ll be worth the wait!

@ShaneP wrote:

Counted at least twelve tower cranes in the city centre during Christmas and the height of the two on the old Jurys site seem to indicate that what ever is planned is going to be relatively tall, although the model of the scheme that was on display in Jury’s before it was knocked didn’t include any tower element – as far as I recall.

I remember seeing a model of the scheme in a local business magazine a few months back and that did show a tower in the plans,it was to be around the 12 storey mark but i think one of the conditions the council attached was for it to be scaled back to 10 storeys.There also seemed to be a smaller tower of around 6 or 8 floors(presumably for the apartments), theres also plans for a number of retail units and an underground carpark. Its pretty poor that no plan of the scheme can be found online,especially because of its prominent location:(

I see the clarion are to manage the former ardhu ryan hotel on the ennis road, its still in the course of redevelopment and mystery has surrounded the whole project, a plan for high density apartments on the site was rejected last year, anyone got any info on what plans they have for the hotel?
[/QUOTE]

@Limerick Guy wrote:

its in the process of being knocked

Ya, for some reason they’re being very careful and are removing it in phases, if ever there was was a candidate for bringing back the wrecking ball, this was it!, well at least its had its day now and we can look forward to something a lot more positive filling what is a really important location just off the shannon bridge, in place of munchins house,is a 9/10 storey block housing 100 apartments, a leisure centre, retail units and possibly another restaurant/bar, its scheduled to be completed by late 2006/early 2007. We should also be hearing about plans for the former esb premises next door early in the new year, the bank of scotland now own the property.

Difficult to know what to make of the patrick st/ellen st/denmark st plan, unfortunately it looks like its going to be a large shopping centre as opposed to a redevelopment of the streets named,these city centre complexes have a pretty poor record and more often than not turn out to be a bit of a let down, eg arthurs quay,merchants quay, i dont think anyone can say that arthurs quay has been a success, i think they’ve paid for a serious lack of ambition in a prime city centre location. I think it would be much more beneficial for the city if the ellen st,michael st were developed into proper shopping streets, it would make sense as it would be a natural extension of the cruises street area, nobody wants another bland, soul-less shopping centre, the city centre is supposed to offer something different,something more atmospheric and enjoyable, we dont want a replica of the crescent right in the miidle of town! One welcome aspect of it all is that the national irish bank building at the corner of o connell st and denmark street is to be demolished, no harm in that, late 60s/early 70s office block need i say anymore!

As usual Its hard to find any detailed plans of the development, the info on the city council website is very vague, looks like we’ll just have to wait for the official announcement!

€200m shopping centre boost for city

By Jimmy Woulfe, Mid-West Correspondent
LIMERICK is set to play host to a €200 million shopping centre that will be one of the biggest city-centre complexes in the country.

Plans for the eight-acre retail complex have been lodged with Limerick City Council by a Belfast developer.

When the centre opens in two years’ time, pending planning permission, it will employ more than 1,000 staff in a shopping area covering 300,000sq ft.

Belfast company Regeneration Developments Ltd, headed by Indian businessman Suneil Sharma, is behind the project.

Mr Sharma was involved in the development of the massive retail centre recently opened in Childer’s Road.

Limerick auctioneers Rooney’s has been working with Mr Sharma in acquiring a vast tract of city centre property.

Pat Kearney, who heads Rooney’s, said: “We have taken options on properties in Rutland St, Patrick St, Ellen St, Michael St and Bank Place.

“This will be a fantastic boost to the city centre and give Limerick a new shopping focus. The complex will be built on four floors and will feature a glass covered foot bridge connecting Ellen St and Dominic St.”

Mr Kearney said he got Mr Sharma interested in Limerick and assembled the property needed for the site of the complex.

He said: “I have spent the last three years putting this together and in that time I have dealt with more than 35 property owners, landlords and tenants.”

Brian Lambe of Dublin firm Lafferty Design, which will manage the project, said: “This project is a very exciting challenge as it will involve conservation of some old buildings as well.”

Lafferty Design has been involved in the €1 billion Dundrum shopping centre development in Dublin.

Mr Lambe said the firm hopes to move in on site late next year and construction will take about two years to complete.

One of the buildings the company has taken an option on is the Patrick St birthplace of internationally acclaimed opera singer Catherine Hayes.

Mr Kearney said that as part of the overall development they intend to restore this building and hand it over to Limerick Civic Trust.

Planning notices were published yesterday and will be lodged with Limerick City Council in the coming days.

Mr Kearney said the development would help Limerick city centre shopping, which has suffered in recent years due to the development of new and existing centres in the suburbs.

A spokesman for the developer did not comment yesterday but a formal announcement is expected in the new year.

“The eircom building on Thomas Street ( the one with the tall mast that you see as soon as you come out of the station) seems like another place with a lot of potential in the centre of town. There’s a large vacant yard beside it too which seems to be used as parking. If the city council showed some foresight a new street could be opened up through the complex linking Dominic St and Thomas St. The lack of a connection between these streets, I think is a major factor in keeping people away from that side of town. A new street in the area along with the proposed cinema would have a big impact on the whole city centre, creating a new link and smaller blocks between Upper William St . Pery Sq. and the Peoples Park. It could prove a very pleasant route and would help bring people back up to Parnell St and the side strrets off it.”

It really is amazing that with all the developments in and around the city centre in the last 15 years or so that there has never been even a hint of speculation regarding this site,its potentially one of the largest development sites in the city and would seriously revitalise this part of town, a cinema here would be a great idea and maybe even a medium sized theatre or music venue, the belltable has always been regarded as too small so this would be an ideal solution,i think it makes sense to have all these amenities in a centralised location and they seem to do better as a result, a proper entertainment quarter would be a fantastic addition to the city centre and bring much needed business into the area, its always struck me how quiet this area actually is,despite being only a stones throw from o connell street, lower roches street in particular has some fine shops and are well kept(more than can be said for other premises in town), the eircom building is unbelievably drab with a horrible concrete facade with a rough stone finish and loads of pvc windows,i think it was completed in the early 60s and it seems to have grown as a communications centre since then, the number of dishes and aerials added to the mast seems to increase even time i see it. Its a bit of an eyesore in the city centre and surely there is no place for it here in this day and age,also seen as its over 40 years old i would imagine it must be inadequate for today technology, hopefully seen as the esb have realised that their site on bishops quay has reached the end of its natural life eircom will soon follow suit! 😉 The top end of roches st and parnell street has a lot of deadwood and i would like to see this area getting some attention, its not the best first impression people get of limerick when they come out of the train station,

Baker place is now a very pleasant city space and its a pity more people dont get to see it, this is too common a problem in this area of town. I suppose the whole portion from the roches street/o connell st junction upwards has been pretty quiet for some time, o connell street in general needs some serious attention, Its fairly devoid of proper businesses, too many of what id call “nothing shops”, the street is littered with fast food outlets and shops that bring little or no trade onto the street, if you look at the old photos of o connell street on this thread with all its beautiful old buildings etc, the reason it was thriving in the past was because it was always home to the biggest and best retailers, these fine buildings were a reflection of the success of the street in the early to middle part of the last century , the only way o connell st will return to its former glory is if the deadwood is cleared out and proper retailers brought back in, the city council or chamber of commerce or whoever have to take some responsibility and do something before its too late.

Walking down the street yesterday i saw that mmmad (a magic shop or something) had finally closed its doors and what was going to replace it???? a f****** centra 😡 , will we ever cop on!..

On a more positive note the Christmas lights on o connell street look really good, a touch of class in them!

Heres your answer!

UGLY BUILDING TO BE DEMOLISHED

The last hurrah: St Munchin’s house to be demolished 😀

THE stage is now set for the demolition of one of Limerick’s best known landmark buildings—St Munchin’s House, often described as the city’s ugliest building.

Bulldozers will move on-site next week to begin knocking the 34-year-old structure, it was confirmed this Thursday. “The whole building should be coming down in the next week,” said developer Michael Daly.

He said that St Munchin’s House would be levelled in a similar way to how the Savoy cinema complex was demolished last month.

Mill Lane, linking Henry Street with Bishop’s Quay, will be closed to accommodate the works.

“The knocking of St Munchin’s House is the next milestone in the development of this area,” said Mr Daly, Riverpoint developer.

The contract giving the go-ahead for the demolition of the building was signed two weeks ago.

St Munchin’s House is located alongside the newly constructed 15-storey Riverpoint development, which has overtaken the Clarion as the tallest building in Limerick. The demolition of St Munchin’s House will pave the way for the second phase of Riverpoint. It was built in 1971, designed by PJ Sheahan and was Limerick’s first purpose built office block.

It occupies 2,723 square metres over eight levels, and was bought by Mr Daly in July 2002. It has been slammed by architects in recent years for ‘turning its back’ on the river Shannon.

Riverpoint incorporates 13 floors of offices, 125 apartments, a crèche, a gym, a pharmacy, a landscaped courtyard and a 250-space underground car park.

The new bar at the development will be dedicated to the memory of Limerick acting legend Richard Harris

Mill lane is being closed off for a year from next year to facilitate the demolition of munchins house and the construction of phase 2 of the riverpoint project!

I think this notion of limerick becoming “the shopping capital of europe” is a bit embaressing, im not sure what mr parkes is basing this on but he must be pretty confident that he’s going to get the go ahead for his new venture beside the parkway retail park, basically what is planned is a 60 unit centre along with an office park, cinema, industrial units and public park.Im really sick of all these boring suburban shopping centres, they’re killing the city centre, i see the crescent extension opened last week, bringing it up to around the 100 shop mark, the original 70s part looks extremely dated from the outside with its lowrise malls, i always thought it should have been bulldozed and a more suitable structure put in place, there is basically no more room for expansion on this site. With more developments planned for the old racecourse, coonagh cross and the parkway, its about time the city centre projects gathered some momentum, the proposals for the michael street area etc should be submitted shortly, lets hope they’ve put some proper thought into this, we dont want another arthurs quay style debacle, also the application for shannon street is expected shortly!

“this thread has ben quiet lately, anybody have any new news?”

Ya whats wrong with ye all?, theres plenty of stuff going on!

This just confirms what we’ve always thought about the city council, are these really the people who should be spearheading the campaign for a boundary extension?, the way things are going we’ll probably get a boundary reduction! 😡

Council on the brink of collapse

A DAMNING indictment of Limerick City Council has been made by Minister of State, Tim O’Malley who accuses the local authority of not being able to efficiently run a modern, medium sized city.

The Minister’s criticism comes as the Council faces financial ruin following the High Court’s decision not to overturn an arbitrator’s decision that it wrongly fired Uniform Construction from the 240million euro Limerick Main Drainage Scheme in 2001.

Now looking financial ruin in the face, with a compensation pay-out of well in excess of 50 million euro being calculated for Uniform, (this represents over 80 per cent of the council’s annual budget), the life of the Council hangs in the balance, with the possibility of a commissioner being appointed to run the city. Should the Minister for the Environment dissolve Limerick City Council, the role of the elected members would also be annulled.

While support for the Council and various suggestions on how it could be salvaged from all-out bankruptcy have come from various political quarters, Minister O’Malley’s hard-hitting denouncement is accompanied by his insistence that “a single authority should take over the running of Limerick city and county”.

Voicing concern for the security of jobs at City Hall, he says that having got the original specifications of the Main Drainage Scheme so badly wrong, the Council should not have acted so hastily in pursuing the matter through the courts again.

“The Council has now managed to damage the financial integrity of our city in a manner unprecedented since the Siege of Limerick in 1691 and it seems that the efficient running of a modern, medium sized city seems utterly beyond the capabilities of many of the officials we have been employing.”

City manager, Tom Mackey told the Limerick Post that he is “considering” Minister O’Malley’s statements and will “respond in due course”.

Uniform Construction won a 8.5million euro contract in 2000 to carry out tunnelling for the drainage scheme but was sacked after falling behind with the work and for going over budget.The company claimed the Council failed to give it accurate information about underground rock and one of its principals was forced to sell off his share of the business as a result of what happened.

Uniform appealed the decision to a conciliator who found in the company’s favour and awarded it 25million compensation but this decision was subsequently appealed by the Council to an arbitrator who also found in favour of Uniform.

Limerick City Council then sought to overturn this ruling in the High Court but the Council’s case was rejected.

Stressing that it will be essential that the city is not left without essential services, Deputy Michael Noonan, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, says that the Exchequer may have to step in to save the Council and the services it provides.

“Limerick city taxpayers alone should not foot the 50million damages. There are several precedents to support this – some years ago Limerick County Council had to pay three million in compensation to a company for not being awarded a roads contract. The Council had to pay 250,000 euro from its own insurance cover and a small residue of 30,000 while the National Roads Authority had to pick up the remainder of the bill. I want the same principal applied in the case of Limerick City Council.”

Deputy Peter Power has called on the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, to authorise that the compensation bill be paid by the Department of the Environment.

Speaking to the Limerick Post he said: “information available to me is that the Department of the Environment and Local Government were intrinsically involved in the decision to rescind the contract from the beginning. I can reveal that they agreed at all stages with the decisions of the City Council on this issue.”

While the director of services for Transportation will hold a briefing session with the city’s councillors on Monday next, Mayor Diarmuid Scully said that the 50 million euro pay-out being quoted is not based on any decision yet taken.

“The arbitrator will not make his decision on costs until March 2006 and in the meantime we will explore all options open to us,” he said.

“It seems that the efficient running of a modern, medium sized city seems utterly beyond the capabilities of many of the officials we have been employing.”

City manager, Tom Mackey told the Limerick Post that he is “considering” Minister O’Malley’s statements and will “respond in due course”.

Uniform Construction won a 8.5million euro contract in 2000 to carry out tunnelling for the drainage scheme but was sacked after falling behind with the work and for going over budget.The company claimed the Council failed to give it accurate information about underground rock and one of its principals was forced to sell off his share of the business as a result of what happened.

Uniform appealed the decision to a conciliator who found in the company’s favour and awarded it 25million compensation but this decision was subsequently appealed by the Council to an arbitrator who also found in favour of Uniform.

Limerick City Council then sought to overturn this ruling in the High Court but the Council’s case was rejected.

Stressing that it will be essential that the city is not left without essential services, Deputy Michael Noonan, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, says that the Exchequer may have to step in to save the Council and the services it provides.

“Limerick city taxpayers alone should not foot the 50million damages. There are several precedents to support this – some years ago Limerick County Council had to pay three million in compensation to a company for not being awarded a roads contract. The Council had to pay 250,000 euro from its own insurance cover and a small residue of 30,000 while the National Roads Authority had to pick up the remainder of the bill. I want the same principal applied in the case of Limerick City Council.”

Deputy Peter Power has called on the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, to authorise that the compensation bill be paid by the Department of the Environment.

Speaking to the Limerick Post he said: “Information available to me is that the Department of the Environment and Local Government were intrinsically involved in the decision to rescind the contract from the beginning. I can reveal that they agreed at all stages with the decisions of the City Council on this issue.”

While the director of services for Transportation will hold a briefing session with the city’s councillors on Monday next, Mayor Diarmuid Scully said that the 50 million euro pay-out being quoted is not based on any decision yet taken.

“The arbitrator will not make his decision on costs until March 2006 and in the meantime we will explore all options open to us,” he said

Interesting news here, a proposal that would transform the shannon street area, the side of the street where the stella ballroom is located is seriously under utilised and this would tie in very nicely with the bank of scotland development across the street where a number of new retail units have come on the market and the transformation of nearby bedford row, which includes a luxury hotel and 14 shops, glad to see the city centre fighting back, its also good to see local developers willing to put money into the inner city!

A GROUP of Limerick investors are in the process of assembling a number of sites in the city centre with the purpose of creating a new street, similar to Cruises Street.

The Limerick Post can reveal that the investors are locked in negotiations with the owners of the Stella Ballroom in Lower Shannon Street and the proprietors of other nearby properties, with a view to providing a state-of-the-art shopping mall leading onto Bedford Row.

It is understood that plans will shortly be submitted to Limerick City Council.

The proposed development will sit alongside the Savoy project, currently under way.

One member of the consortium confirmed that talks were well advanced.

Their plan, he said, was to transform Stella Lane into a shopping precinct, which would necessitate the demolition of The Stella, a Limerick landmark building.

“Ideally, if we get the green light, we would like to attract high profile retailers maybe even Marks and Spencer Food Only, which are so popular in the United Kingdom and also in some of Ireland’s larger towns”.

The present Stella premises, which is used for bingo, almost backs onto Bedford Row.

One city-based auctioneer said he was aware of plans for the redevelopment of The Stella and other adjoining properties.

“There is still some work to be done in putting the pieces together. From what I know, the intention is to model the proposed new street along similar lines to Cruises Street, and we all know how successful that has been. With Bedford Row about to have a face change, and a new hotel on the site of the former Savoy Cinema, the opportunity is now there to complete what is a very exciting package”.

The Limerick Co-ordination Office said the proposed development of the Stella Ballroom into a pedestrianised street mall would be an added boost to the major regeneration of the city centre that is currently underway.

“It would enhance the second phase of the extensive pedestrianisation programme that is now focusing on Bedford Row and make city centre shopping a more positive experience,” Limerick city co-ordinator Andrew Mawhinney said.

But Mr Mawhinney added that it would be important to get the right balance in the retail mix.

“A quality anchor tenant would be essential and it must also be a living street that has a good combination of cafes and retail,” he said.

Cruises Street, now into its 14th year of trading, was built on the site of the former Cruises Hotel and also involved the purchase of buildings to the rear of the premises.

Definately a contender for the title of limericks ugliest building, not sure how they managed to get away with it, the planning laws must have been non existant at that time, i imagine the building is around 30 years old or thereabouts, i suppose its not surprising when you see some of the muck that was built in the city centre around that time!, there are a lot of grotty buildings in william street that could do with a serious cleaning, some of them are almost black, fair enough some retailers have refurbished their premises in recent years but a lot more needs to be done as its certainly a street with a great deal of potential, a number of premises have been up for sale or letting recently, high profile premises such as the old gaeltacht cleaners and finns bar have been purchased and hopefully some suitable retailers can be found to give city centre shoppers more of a choice, the sports 2000 shop is also on the market, its definately one of the larger premises in the city centre and is also quite an attractive building.

It isnt often that 3 premises like this come on the market in the city centre, retailers are always complaining about the lack of suitable space, this is their chance. It looks certain that the city centre is going to lose out on some high profile retailers such as zara who are moving into the crescent but this was pretty inevitable as the crescent had set its stall out as to who it wanted for its new wing and it looks like there was no shortage of takers for the units!

I’ve also seen a plan for the george in the local press this week, cant say im too impressed, its a fairly predictable design, lots of windows once again,its roughly the same height as the aib bank next to it and it towers a good 3 storeys above the timberland store on the shannon street side.They’ve kept the original structure intact while removing the 1960s facade, all it basically consists of is stone and steel cladding, its looks pretty cheap in all fairness. Theres still a lot of contradictionary rumours flying around the place, some say its all going to be a hotel while others say retail space will be available on the ground floor, personally i think it’ll be a mixed use development with retail on the ground floor, no clues as to who’s in for it, the virgin megastore had an ad in the paper lately but seen as this development wont be completed until next summer i doubt its going to be them!

A CITY councillor is sticking to his conviction that the People’s Park is being interfered with in a way that is reducing its landscaped parkland.

Cllr Jim Long told the Limerick Post that following his protestation against the sudden appearance last week of a new pathway in the park at the rear of new complex which is being built there, and his claim that “a cloud of silence” hung over the issue in City Hall, Limerick City Council director of services, Kieran Lehane has now agreed to an investigative meeting on site.

The councillor, who sparked off a heated controversy that gathered momentum following his discovery some months ago that Limerick City Council had sold off 0.44 acres of parkland for 1.5million euro to facilitate the building of a mixed development, is now incensed that there has been a further intrusion into the public park which was bequeathed to the people of Limerick by the Earl of Limerick in 1876.

City Hall confirmed that it had received a number of calls from members of the public, voicing their concern that yet more of the park has been eroded.

However, City Council is emphatic that the construction of a ramp will allow Council workers access to a new depot located in the basement of the multi-storey apartment development.

City Hall states that the ramp or new pathway was part of the planning development and is required to provide access to the park’s maintenance depot. The council stresses that there is no intention of providing a facility for vehicles to drive through the park.

Unconvinced, Cllr Long said that having walked around a cordoned off area in the park, there is, in his opinion, ample room for a truck to drive through.

“It is my belief that what we’re looking at here is a slip road,” he said.

“I’ll be meeting with officials in the park – I want to show them where my concerns are and that not one more piece of the People’s Park is interfered with for building developments

A pretty worrying precedent is being set here, was never much of a fan of this development in the first place, there was never any mention of this access point in the original application and the city council assured people that no part of the part other than the specified site itself would be lost, turns out most people were right to be suspicious!, limerick city council dont seem to have any problem in destroying the citys oldest and probably its best public park while doing absolutely nothing to at least improve or perhaps even dispose of the failure that is arthurs quay park, there is a pretty large area there if you include the dunnes site and the vacant shops to the rear of roches, and i cant understand why no action is being taken, there is surely some legislation to free up prime development sites, this is probably one of the last remaining prime sites by the riverfront and what we dont want here is another boring, bland apartment block, if ever this site became available, i think an international competition should be held and let planners and architects(the people who should know best) come up with ideas on how best to utilise this valuable site, i wouldnt like to see the job the city council would make out of it!