Limerick City 'milestone' as work to begin on Revenue's new Opera Square building

Limerick City and County Council approved €1.1m sale to the OPW of Parcel 5 on the Opera Square site 

An image of what part of Limerick's Opera Square site will look like upon completion, including the 14-storey Revenue offices, set to be Limerick's tallest building. File picture 

Work is set to commence on a new 14-storey office building in Limerick, as council members gave the green light to sell lands at the Opera Square site.

The decision was made at the latest council meeting, and will see the new building constructed on behalf on the Revenue Commissioners.

The Office of Public Works will pay €1.1m for the move and will also cover the development costs incurred so far by the council.

This disposal, by way of a 999-year lease, over Parcel 5 of the Opera Square site, consists of 1,936sq m of basement space and 1,346sq m of airspace overhead.

The sale will now allow the OPW to move forward with the construction of the building, which will be home to almost 1,000 workers.

The development of the Opera site by Limerick Twenty Thirty DAC has been supported over the last number of years by the elected members of Limerick City and County Council.

The councillors gave the green light for loan funding from the European Investment Bank and also approved a previous section 183 that has allowed the building of Number One Opera Square to proceed, with the support of the Irish Strategic Investment Fund.

These decisions have also allowed for negotiations to open on the future hotel site on the Ellen St side of the development in partnership with Limerick Twenty Thirty, a special-purpose vehicle of the council that plans and develops key strategic sites in Limerick City and County, such as Opera Square.

Limerick mayor, John Moran, said: “It has been a long 10 years coming but it is great to see us finally pass this important milestone in the delivery of the OPW building.”

"I want to thank the councillors for voting unanimously to support our recommendation. I want to thank the ministers of the OPW and their officials, the team at Limerick Twenty Thirty, and at LCCC for their tireless work to make this happen. 

But most of all I want to thank the people of Limerick for their patience. 

Limerick City and County Council director general Pat Daly added: “This has been a collaborative effort from the very beginning. I want to thank the many council and Limerick Twenty Thirty DAC staff who worked tirelessly on this, as well as the multiple government departments and ministers who supported us along the way. 

"Their guidance and partnership have been invaluable in bringing us to this point.”