Planning application lodged for more than 550 homes on Cork's Jacob's Island

Three blocks comprising 149 apartments are currently under construction on Jacob’s Island in Mahon. A planning application for an additional 556 units has just been lodged with Cork City Council.

RESIDENTIAL development is gathering pace on Cork City’s southside, with a proposal for a large-scale development in Jacob’s Island having just entered the planning process.

Hibernia Star Ltd, linked to McCarthy Developments (Cork) Ltd, has just lodged an application for a 10-year planning permission for a large-scale residential development of 556 units across four blocks at Jacob’s Island in Mahon, as part of an ongoing €750m development, expected to ultimately deliver more than 1,200 homes. 

The scheme will be half way to meeting that target when the 149 units currently under construction are complete. These latest units, across three blocks, with completion dates ranging from May-November 2027, will be predominantly two-bed apartments, with 150 one-bed units, and the tenure will be cost-rental (c 25% below local market value). 

Approved housing body Respond will own and operate the apartments.

The proposed 556-unit development features extensive green amenity areas for future residents, the highlight of which is a 2,976 sq m central park. A planned garden area to the north-east of the site will incorporate a preserved wine cellar, the last physical remains of the historic Lakeland House which once occupied this site. Each of four residential blocks will also have its own landscaped courtyard space.

The latest planning application from Hibernian Star Ltd – part of a masterplan for the Mahon peninsula - comes in the wake of a change last July of guidelines governing apartment building. An application for 489 units was shot down by An Bord Pleanála a year ago, but the new guidelines are less restrictive in terms of dwelling mix. The developer has also proposed upgrades to the local road network to address traffic congestion concerns.

Permission was granted in 2023 for a 165-bed hotel and 10,000 sq m of office space, and McCarthy Developments managing director Tom McCarthy said they plan to start work on both elements in Q1 2027 “subject to an operator, and occupiers for the offices”.

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