DocklandsSite: The decision by the Shannon Foynes Port Company to sell 5.3 acres in Limerick's docklands may result in the port moving elsewhere and open up a further 40 acres for development, writes Jack Fagan
The most valuable development site to come on the market in Limerick city in decades - a plot of 2.15 hectares (5.3 acres) fronting on to the River Shannon in the docklands - is expected to make over €100 million when it is sold at tender shortly.
The announcement of the sale is likely to prompt speculation that the Limerick port may eventually be moved elsewhere, leaving almost 40 acres between the Dock Road and the river available for redevelopment.
Agent Jones Lang LaSalle is handling the sale of the first tranche of land which will accommodate a new city quarter with potential to provide a range of residential, business and leisure facilities.
Redevelopment of the docklands area started several years ago when the landmark Clarion Hotel and an extensive apartment scheme was completed on the edge of the Shannon.
Property sources in Limerick have expressed surprise that the Shannon Foynes Port Company has not released a larger site for sale at this stage which would possibly have opened the way for a city centre shopping complex with sufficiently large units to attract big name international tenants.
Nearby, a plan to provide such a shopping centre on part of the lands of the former racecourse have been shelved for the moment.
The docks land is zoned for "general purposes" under the Limerick City Development Plan 2004. Preferred land uses include hotel/motel, residential, local and neighbourhood shopping, offices, community facilities, cultural use, schools, science and technology-based industries.
The recommendation on hotel or motels will be taken with a grain of salt, given the huge of number of bedrooms in the pipeline before the tax incentives run out.
Even before this happens, Limerick is already well supplied with hotel facilities.
The Limerick city development plan identifies the docklands area, of which the site forms part, as a significant remaining landmark both for greenfields and urban renewal potential for the city.
It identifies the docklands precinct as a key element for the implementation of the National Spatial Strategy and the development of this area is to be viewed as an adjunct to the city centre, while providing an opportunity for the provision of a range of mixed land uses which will add value and employment opportunities for the city.
