€300m redevelopment of historic ‘Limerick Soviet’ site moves forward

The Cleeves Riverside Quarter will play a key role in the wider transformation of the city and region

The master-planning process for the Cleeves Riverside Quarter will now commence. Pictured are Karen McEvoy, Bucholz McEvoy Architects, Limerick Twenty Thirty Chairman Conn Murray and The Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Michael Collins. Picture: Sean Curtin

The master-planning process for a historic Limerick riverside site that will play a key role in the wider transformation of the city and region is about to commence following the appointment of a design team.

Limerick Twenty Thirty announced the decision today to appoint the management teams for the development of the Cleeves Riverside Quarter.

A six-month programme is now underway tasked with devising the blueprint for the 10-acre site, which will see Limerick Twenty Thirty - the development company established by Limerick City and County Council - bring its €500m plus programme to the north side of the river.

The Cleeves Riverside Quarter project will result in a mixed-use development that will transform the site synonymous with the Limerick city centre skyline for its red-brick chimney stack tower. The total cost of the project is estimated at between €250m to €300m and delivery will take approximately seven years.

The site dates back to the 1800s and in addition to the processing of dairy products and confectionary, it was also one of the sites at the centre of the noted ‘Limerick Soviet’ of 1919.

Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Michael Collins said that the development will play a huge role in the future of the city, county and region. “Despite the challenges with Covid now and into the New Year, the mid to long-term future of Limerick is extremely bright thanks to all the planned investment that is already happening or scheduled to take place."

"The Opera Site looms largest on the horizon and is about to start but to have this project kicking in over the coming years will be a huge boost. We have a lot to look forward to.”

The newly appointed Project Team, led by Limerick Twenty Thirty, will commence its work by preparing a shortlist of concepts for the site, with a preferred option to be selected in early 2021 following a rigorous assessment of how it will deliver on a range of objectives for Limerick City and the region, including economic development, residential accommodation and a new public realm.

The next stage of the programme will involve the preparation of a Stage 1 Master Plan for the development, to be completed by June 2021. The Master Planning process will include public consultations to ensure local community and wider public engagement on the future of the site. Following the completion of the Stage 1 Master Plan, the Project Team will move onto formal design stages for the project.

Limerick Twenty Thirty Chairman Conn Murray said: “The Cleeves Riverside Quarter is going to be another huge contributor to the transformation of the city centre over the coming decade. The site offers huge opportunity for a high-quality mixed-use development of real scale and significance. Between this and all the other investments underway or about to start in Limerick, we are going to see the city transform before our eyes over the coming years.”

David Conway, CEO of Limerick Twenty Thirty said a lot of eyes are on the Opera Site, which starts in the coming weeks, but their focus is very much also on the other side of the Shannon. 

"This is a really important aspect for us as having a development of such scale on the northside of the river ensures our wider programme spreads to both sides of the river when traditionally the vast bulk of investment in Limerick city is on the south side of the Shannon.”

The appointed project team is made up of a design team led by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, in partnership with Bucholz McEvoy Architects. They will be supported by Arup (Civil & Structural Engineering, Building Services Engineering etc.) and Mitchell Associates (Landscape Architects) with Rogerson Reddan to provide Project Management, Quantity Surveying and Project Supervisor Design Process services, supported by health and safety consultants Integrated Risk Solutions. HRA Planning will deliver Planning Consultancy services for the project.