A public information event for the redevelopment of the Cleeves Riverside Quarter on the North Circular Road took place on Wednesday, October 22. The event gave the public an opportunity to view the planning of phase II of the redevelopment before the application is lodged with An Comisiún Pleanála next week.
The redevelopment of the historic Cleeves site is being spearheaded by property development company, Limerick Twenty Thirty. Members from the project team were on hand at the information events to answer the public’s queries on the redevelopment.
Phase I of the project includes stabilising and repairing the upper storey and roof of the Flaxmill building. These works are set to begin at the end of this year.
Phase two of the project will encompass 234 residential homes located across the Salesians site, Stonetown Terrace and O’Callaghan Strand.
According to the phase II plans, the Salesians residential site will include 166 new homes, consisting of a mixture of apartments and townhouses. A crèche with spaces for 34 children will feature at the centre of the site.
O’Callaghan’s Strand will have 21 new homes in the form of a four/five-storey apartment block.
The Stonetown Terrace will cater for 47 new homes within a five-storey apartment block and three-storey townhouses.
Purpose-built student accommodation set to house 270 students is also within the estimated €400 million plans, with funds approved under the Urban Regeneration Development Fund.
The proposed student accommodation will be made up of three wings, all connected by communal spaces and shared facilities on the ground floor. The accommodation will be located in the Quarry of the Riverside Quarter.
The planning application comprises an additional 299 square meters of commercial space on the banks of the River Shannon. The commercial space will feature a public realm with new parks, plazas, and gardens for recreation.
The plans for phase II also showed nature-based sustainable drainage solutions in the public realm and the potential for a rock-climbing wall on the existing Quarry face.
CEO of Limerick Twenty Thirty Enda Power described the Cleeves Riverside Quarter as “the next step in Limerick Twenty Thirty’s mission to drive the city’s regeneration through ambitious and sustainable development.”
“It responds directly to Limerick’s growing demand for high-quality housing and student accommodation, while creating a new mixed-use quarter that strengthens the economic and cultural core of the city. This is regeneration with impact, delivering tangible social and economic outcomes for Limerick,” he added.
Construction of phase II of the redevelopment will begin in the first quarter of 2027 and span to the end of 2030.
Mayor John Moran spoke of the benefits redeveloping the disused site will have for the city.
“It is great news to see the planning application for this disused site. Given the growing positivity about Limerick’s future, we need more anchors for enterprise and development. They really won’t come any bigger than Cleeves Riverside Quarter.”
“This, by any city standards, especially with plans for the new pedestrian bridge, is a phenomenal site, located on the banks of the River Shannon, in what is effectively the city centre.” He concluded.
Whilst the project will provide much-needed housing and community spaces for the city’s residents, it will also preserve the history of the 19th-century industrial site.
George Wilson of Fielden Clegg Bradley Studios spoke of how the re-engineering of the old Flaxmill is “much more sustainable” in comparison to rebuilding somewhere else and “putting more carbon out into the atmosphere”.
He also mentioned the hopes for a “place-specific response” to the team’s remodelling of the riverside quarter as they are preserving rather than “ripping out the character”.
There are two subsequent phases to the project. The proposal for phase III, which could involve working with the Technological University of Shannon, is being developed. It will aim to provide student facilities and lecture space on the Flaxmill, Infiltration Gallery, and North Circular Road plots.
Phase IV is subject to further design development but is set to include a full development of the shipyard on the site.