Old school campus fetches over €2.5m million

A FORMER secondary school campus in Limerick city has been sold for a figure in excess of €2.5million.

The former Scoil Carmel on O’Connell Avenue has been purchased by the HSE and, according to the selling agent, Tom Crosse, Group Property Director of GVM Auctioneers, there are “great plans ahead which will greatly enhance the locality”.

While Mr Crosse remained tight-lipped on the sale price of the property it is understood the old school sold for in excess of €2.5million. The site is home to the former Scoil Carmel which closed in 2016.

“It was also used by the HSE as a vaccination centre during the Covid pandemic,” Mr Crosse explained, adding that overall the site is approximately 2.5 acres.

The HSE already have planning permission to demolish the building and construct a new elective surgery hub there for providing minor day surgery procedures.

The facility is being built as part of a €100m government response to tackle the long waiting lists in hospitals across the State.

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According to planning documents, it’s anticipated it will be able to welcome up to 150 patients each day. It is also foreseen that there will be a maximum of 100 staff members serving the site each day.
It comes with tens of thousands of people still awaiting treatment at University Hospital Limerick in Dooradoyle.

Alongside the hub in Limerick, similar facilities are being constructed in Cork, Dublin, Galway and Waterford.

Last May, Deputy Kieran O’Donnell, TD said: “We expect that the hubs in Galway, Cork, Limerick and Waterford will be operational in 2025 and early 2026.”

As part of the planning permission, the HSE was asked to make a financial contribution of €276,888 to Limerick City and County Council for local infrastructure.

The closure of the school on O'Connell Avenue was announced by the Department of Education in 2014 when there were only 250 students enrolled in the school. When the school eventually closed there were only 90 students enrolled.