University of Limerick in talks to develop student accommodation near its campus

UNIVERSITY of Limerick (UL) is engaged in talks to develop student accommodation in the upper units of a multi-storey complex near its campus in Castletroy.

The Park Point complex in Dublin Road is home to a branch of budget hotel Travelodge, and a cafe.

But its top four floors are not in use as things stand, sparking a call from Fine Gael councillor Peter Doyle to have these converted into student halls.

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“It’s a little bit of a farce of a situation that we have a student accommodation crisis and we have four floors of that building empty. It beggars belief,” said Cllr Doyle, who chairs the local authority’s economic committee.

Plassey Campus Centre, a subsidiary of UL, which manages the university’s student residences, owns and manages Park Point.

A spokesperson for the college has confirmed to Limerick Live that a proposal is in place to develop student accommodation in the tower.

It’s currently being considered at the university, Plassey Campus Centre and other stakeholders.

“As it is at proposal stage, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time,” they added.

This comes after Plassey Campus Centre secured planning permission to convert part of the tower block building into student accommodation in early 2024.

Cllr Doyle, who also represents the Castletroy area on the local authority, described converting the top four floors for students as “an easy win”.

“I think the whole thing needs to be kitted out, but it's ready to go from what I see. It’s a great location,” he said.

“The easy solution is to kit out those four floors and provide 10 students per floor, it could be up to 40 apartments. It's an obvious easy win.”

The UL spokesperson says the college is continuing to work with government, its partners in Limerick and the wider sector nationally to find solutions to the issues facing students who struggle to find accommodation in the city.

“UL is actively reviewing both medium and long-term solutions to increase the supply of student accommodation,” they added.

The Park Point building was constructed during the Celtic Tiger boom in 2007.

It stood idle for two years before welcoming Travelodge in 2009.

UL acquired the property in 2016 for a total of €4m.

At the time, the college stated that it intended to use the 96,230 square foot complex to further expand its campus facilities.