A PARCEL of land in Limerick City, under plans by the Land Development Agency (LDA), could see more than 400 new homes built.
This comes as the government has approved the transfer of State-owned land at Rosbrien to the LDA as part of a transfer of other pieces of land across the country.
Minister of Housing Darragh O’Brien received approval from government ministers to transfer a number of land parcels nationwide to LDA ownership to facilitate the building of up to 3,300 homes.
As well as the land at Rosbrien, a number of sites will be transferred either in full or in part to LDA ownership.
The collective potential yield of homes on these sites is expected to be between 2,800 and 3,300, a cabinet meeting was told.
The sites that are to change ownership are in Bluebell, Dublin; Bolton Street Car Park, Waterford; Waterside Car Park, Waterford; and Model Farm Road, Cork.
The sites where partial transfers will take place are in Carrickmines Little, with partial ownership by Horse Racing Ireland; Galway Harbour; St Otteran’s Hospital, Waterford; and Sandyford, which will remain partially owned by the Central Bank of Ireland.
The chosen sites were among a number of sites considered in the LDA’s Report on Relevant Public Lands, which was published in March of 2023, and have been earmarked for medium to longer term delivery.
According to the report, the land in Rosbrien has the potential to hold between 290 and 410 homes.
The LDA is currently progressing with plans for the Colbert Quarter Masterplan, which would see up to 600 homes developed on the St Joseph’s Hospital site on Mulgrave Street.
However, former head of the LDA, John Moran, recently told the Limerick Post the Colbert is a “missed opportunity”.
The current plans for the St Joseph’s Hospital site would see a mix of apartments and two-story terraces homes, which Mr Moran says he isn’t in favour of.
He says the two previously-published iterations of the Colbert plans were far more ambitious and sought to create a vibrant city centre neighbourhood that features social and affordable apartments, as well as privately owned or rented apartments, along with a public plaza, community and cultural spaces, shops, and working spaces.
Mr Moran claimed that, during his time as chair of the LDA, the public were supportive of the plans to create more apartment blocks on the site, with the level of ambition for the site being welcomed.
