Five potential iconic projects - By ANNE SHERIDAN
FIVE potential iconic structures have been shortlisted by Limerick's business elite to attract an additional million visitors to the city over the next ten years. A multicultural village, an Irish diaspora centre and a multi-purpose events centre are three projects chosen from more the 50 suggestions during a series of brainstorming sessions.
A project manager will
now be assigned to each
of the five proposals,
which will be put
through a rigorous evaluation
test over the coming
months. "They will
all have to condense their
projects and see how feasible
each one is," said
University of Limerick
Prof Eamonn Murphy,
chairman of the group.
The statistics professor
said of the five shortlisted
projects, more
than one is likely to see it
to completion. "There
will be more than one but
there can't be five main
projects either," he said.
The multicultural village,
which has been
likened in design to the
Dubai Palm, would compose
of separate villages
for each community,
complete with language
centres and restaurants.
Each village would be
connected by canals and
bridges and would reflect
the architecture, culture
and cuisine of its particular
country. A giant
globe of the world, which
would be lit up at night,
would form the centrepiece
of this development.
The events centre,
which would be larger
than the 1000-seater University
Concert Hall, is
intended to be used for
gigs, various events and
conferences.
But three key challenges
have now
emerged. "We need to
have the project within
the city environs, we
need leadership and a
single voice, that's independent
of politics. The
biggest challenge is to
develop a leadership
structure that's not up in
lights and is driving this
forward. The real question
is how much money
will private people be
able to put up," he said.
Five bodies - Atlantic
Way, Shannon Development,
Limerick Chamber
of Commerce, Co-Ordination
Office and the
University of Limerick -
have been spearheading
discussions regarding
the development over the
past two months.
Locations and costings
for each of the five projects
have yet to be
defined. But, Dr Edward
Walsh, former UL president,
believes that money
will not be an issue
once the right project is
earmarked.
Dr Walsh is a key member
of the group involved
in picking the iconic
structure
The River Shannon has
also been highlighted as
an underutilised attraction
in the city, which
should be made the focal
point of the city. However
Prof Muprhy said "it's
difficult to get money out
of the river. We're looking
at how we can do that
too."
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Tuesday 22 May 2012
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