Multi-storey apartment complex is planned for area near Opera Square in Limerick city

PLANS can this week be revealed for a new multi-storey apartment complex near the Opera Square development in the city centre.

Award-winning city architecture firm Healy Partners have teamed up with local developer HKD Limited, which is seeking permission from council to redevelop a site in Michael Street, just metres away from the €200m office and commercial project, formerly known as the Opera Centre.

Agents for the developer say it will “transform a vacant brownfield site on Michael Street into a vibrant contemporary addition to Limerick city centre”.

Under the plans, a former garage, now lying idle, in the street will be knocked. In place of this will be a towering, seven-storey building, comprising 22 apartments.

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Sixteen of these will be single-bed living spaces, with the remainder two-bedroomed. The multi-million euro complex will also see commercial space on the ground floor. There have long been calls for more housing in and around the Opera Square site.

As things stand, that land behind Patrick Street is earmarked for new offices, a hotel, a new city library, and commercial with only limited residential.

The blueprint for the Michael Street apartment complex is being delivered by Healy Partners of Glentworth Street, which is promising “thoughtfully-designed apartments, a ground-floor commercial unit, and generous communal spaces.”

Aran Healy, director at the firm said: “The architecture is rooted in a deep respect for Limerick’s historic urban fabric, drawing inspiration from the city’s Georgian heritage while responding to the dynamic, evolving context created by the adjacent Opera Square development.” A planning decision is due by the end of next month.