Govt agency preparing ambitious plans for housing on site of former Cork psychiatric hospital

Ambitious housing plans are being prepared for a former asylum building on the northside of Cork city which has been boarded up since it was gutted in a suspected arson attack just over two years ago.

City officials have confirmed that proposals for the former St Kevin’s hospital building and site, on the grounds of the former Our Lady’s Mental Hospital in Shanakiel - understood to be the single largest derelict site in the city - have been discussed with the Government’s Land Development Agency (LDA) and should be ready for presentation by Autumn.

The agency, which was established by the Government last September with a €1.25bn war-chest, has been tasked with identifying suitable state land for the delivery of more than 20,000 homes across the country as part of wider efforts to resolve the housing crisis.

One of its key target sites in Cork was the former St Kevin’s building which sits on an elevated 14-acre site overlooking the River Lee, close to Hollyhill industrial estate and Apple computer’s European headquarters.

Local Fianna Fáil Cllr Tony Fitzgerald, who as Lord Mayor at the time of the arson attack called for a masterplan to be prepared for the site, said it is vital that residents in Sunday’s Well, Shanakiel and Lee Road areas are involved in any discussions on its future use.

“I will be looking for details of the proposed usage of the existing building and surrounding site, which ideally will include a mix of social, affordable and private housing development. But it must come with funding to develop road access, and a proper traffic management plan that must include public transport delivery too,” he said.

The city’s head of housing, Brian Geaney, said councillors can discuss the most appropriate form of “stakeholder engagement” with the relevant LDA officer once the detailed plans are ready for presentation.

The HSE-owned property was closed in 2002, was deemed surplus to HSE requirements and fell into dereliction.

The five-storey red-bricked building became a magnet for anti-social activity, prompting the HSE to spend millions on security - €1.6m between 2002 and 2007 alone.

It included the fitting of over 235 shutters, and the installation of a CCTV system.

The building was added to the derelict sites register in February 2017 with a market value of some €2.7m.

But despite the security, the building was gutted in a suspected arson attack in July 2017.

Firefighters saved it from total destruction.

It was offered for sale on the open market afterwards, but withdrawn soon after the establishment of the LDA.