Construction begins on €500m Limerick Twenty Thirty development

18 Apr 2017

Limerick city horizon. Image: Piotr Machowczyk/Shutterstock

An effort to bring 5,000 jobs to Limerick city has now gotten underway, as construction begins on the Limerick Twenty Thirty programme.

Announced in September of last year, Limerick Twenty Thirty was sold as a plan to bring €500m in investment and 5,000 jobs to the region and city over the course of five years.

In the announcement, four sites were chosen as the target of this rejuvenation, including the 112,000 sq ft Gardens International Office on Henry Street, the 550,000 sq ft Opera Site at Rutland Street, the 100,000 sq ft Cleeves Riverside Campus and the 340,000 sq ft Troy Studios film hub in Castleroy.

Now, the entity led by Denis Brosnan has confirmed that work at the Gardens International Office is underway, at a cost of €17.6m, according to RTÉ News.

When fully operational, the offices will be able to support up to 750 staff. In the meantime, 150 construction jobs will be created over the course of the next 18 months.

Along with office space, the location will include space for retail, residential, educational and enterprise in the heart of Limerick.

Good day for Limerick

Brosnan said: “This is a very important day for Limerick Twenty Thirty, for Limerick and the wider region.

“This will be the catalyst for a new era of growth for Limerick as this is the first in a wider programme that is going to transform Limerick into a dynamic living and working city, capable of competing with the leading destinations in Europe for inward investment.”

Speaking about the development, Limerick City and County Council chief executive Conn Murray said that it will bring great dividends to the people of Limerick, having been secured from NAMA for €800,000.

In other Limerick news this morning (18 April), Three Ireland and An Cosán Virtual Community College (VCC), in partnership with Limerick Youth Service, announced a new fully funded online community development programme for young adults.

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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