Ireland: The €180 million Project Opera scheme has been granted planning consent by An Bord Pleanala.
The project will see land behind Patrick Street and Ellen Street completely transformed to provide a new quarter for the city.
Some buildings will be demolished, and the site will be transformed into a development of offices, houses, an aparthotel, a new city library, cafes and restaurant.
The development includes a glazed building, and a second 11-storey building looking onto the Abbey River, and a significant new public plaza connecting Ellen, Michael and Patrick Streets.
Up to 3,000 jobs will be created as a result of the project. Preparatory works are already under way on the scheme.
Chief executive of development company Limerick Twenty Thirty David Conway said: “The economic impact of this will be enormous, like no other single project before here. The An Bord Pleanála decision also validates the huge effort that our team went to in preparing and moving this application. They have been true to the commitment at the outset that we will deliver this critical project in the heart of Limerick to a standard that respects the architectural heritage of the area, of the city’s Georgian core but at the same time turns it to the future, meeting the needs of the vibrant community that will come to live and work here.”
Dr Pat Daly, the chief executive of Limerick City and County Council, described the news as “a great moment for Limerick, for the region and, indeed, for the country”.
“This will have a transformational effect on Limerick to a level that will ensure our city can really begin to act as a major economic driver on the western half of the country and, in the process, ease the pressure so obviously felt on the east coast. Our ambition for Limerick is way beyond just the city itself; it’s that Limerick steps up another level and today it does that thanks to this decision. We have arrived at such a positive point of no return on this project and we now move on to develop Opera in a timely fashion and realise that great new future for our city and region that we have been building towards over the past decade,” he added.
</p
