Almost 3,000 student beds in the works for Cork city
Artist’s Impressions and Photomontages Strategic Housing Development Planning Application Proposed Student Residential Development at Wilton Road, Victoria Cross, Cork. Picture: Pedersen Focus/Bellmount Developments Ltd.
The announcement this week of plans for a new €31m, ten-storey apartment block at Cork's Victoria Cross highlights the scale of student apartment developments that are being planned or already under construction in the city.
The proposal from Bellmount Developments for 243 student bed spaces is in addition to an adjacent 137-bed development that was granted permission last year.
The planned new development will be located just yards from the under-construction Crow's Nest development from UCC that will see 255 student beds come into use.
It brings to almost 3,000 the number of student bed spaces that are currently under construction or in the planning phase for Cork with the city currently experiencing a mini-boom in student accommodation.
The current projects are in addition to the more than 800 student bed spaces that have been completed in recent months and years including Amnis House on the Western Road and Lee Point on the site of the former Beamish & Crawford brewery.
Unlike residential apartments which developers say are currently uneconomical to build, student apartments remain attractive as long term investments as building regulations allow for a higher density of beds large third level institutions like UCC and MTU will provide tenants on an ongoing basis.
Depending on the planning conditions attached to each development, the apartments can also be leased out in the summer months for short term lettings providing further income for owners.
- Amnis House, Western Road 202 beds
- Lee Point, Brewery Quarter 417 beds
- Hatch Student Living, Copley St 155 beds
- Curraheen Point, Farranlea Road 145 beds
- Crow's Nest, Victoria Cross 255 beds
- Broga House, Square Deal, Western Road 280 beds
- Bandon Road Student Accommodation 412 beds
- Melbourn Point, Rossa Avenue 342 beds
- San Paula, Orchard Road 216 beds
- Former Kelleher’s Tyres, Victoria Cross 380 beds
- Former Coca-Cola Bottling Plant, Carrigrohane Rd 623 beds
- North Main Street 279 beds
- Kino Cinema, Washington St 17 beds
This week saw the lifting of Covid restriction on construction activity allowing work to continue on many sites.
Conor O'Connell Director of the Construction Industry Federation for the Southern Region said it was very positive to see work underway on numerous student accommodation developments in the city.
"A report going back almost a decade pointed out that Cork was the most underserved city for student apartments in the country and it is good to see that being rectified now," he said.
"For too long students have been renting out townhouses and semi-detached homes near colleges that is unsuitable for their needs. These developments are good for the students and are positive for the city as they free up accommodation for other renters.
"Cork is home to major third level institutions like UCC and MTU. Both of these are under significant expansion. We see that with plans for the Tyndall, the dental hospital and the business school. These student developments will service those institutions long into the future."
UCC recently lodged plans for a major expansion of the Tyndall research institute at the city's North Mall that will include a new footbridge to the existing Tyndall campus.
If approved, the plan will result in a doubling of researcher numbers at Tyndall to more than 1,000 in the coming years. This growth also includes a substantial increase in postgraduate numbers at Tyndall, growing to a targeted 250 PhD students by 2025.
The recent creation of the Munster Technological University through a merger of CIT and the Institute of Technology Tralee creates six separate campuses and provides the critical mass to expand further driving further demand for accommodation.
