Plans for massive housing development on site once earmarked for M&S
Huge new masterplan provided to Limerick City and County Council for Horizon Mall/Parkway Valley site
PERMISSION is being sought to transform the long-dormant Parkway Valley/Horizon Mall site into a 403-apartment development, potentially supporting up to 500 jobs during construction.
Developers have unveiled plans to transform the storied site at Dublin Road into a huge multi-storey apartment development and health centre.
Some 403 apartments are planned across five blocks on the land, which has lain largely dormant since the economic crash of 2008.
The vast site was purchased by Kirkland Investments, fronted by Rudi Butler, the son of prominent former city developer Robert Butler, in 2023.
Since then, the firm has developed a masterplan for the land, which was once earmarked for an ambitious shopping centre, ice-rink and cinema.
“We want to get our planning and get moving on the site as quickly as possible. The demand for housing in Limerick is well-documented. Our experience and track record is well documented. We are well-placed to get this project done, and we would be hoping the community in Limerick support this. At the end of the day, we all want more housing,” said a spokesperson for Kirkland Investments, who also highlighted the potential for 500 building jobs to flow from the project.
In recent years, Kirkland has been responsible for the development of 1BQ on Limerick city centre’s riverside, which now houses communications firm Verizon.
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The company also delivered much of the Towlerton district, home to Limerick City Educate Together Secondary School, new homes, the new Bons Secours hospital and a branch of Lidl near Ballysimon Road.
According to the planning application which is now before Limerick City and County Council, block A of the development will see 78 new units, block B will contain 92 homes.
Block C will have 88 units, block D will welcome 83 homes and the final block, E, will be home to 62 new units.
The buildings will range in height from five to eight storeys.
Some 246 of the apartments will be one-bedroomed, and 157 will have two-bedrooms.
One of the blocks will house a creche. A five-storey medical centre will be built separately.
It’s anticipated solar panels will be installed on the roof of the apartments and the medical centre.
In documents provided to planners, agents for Kirkland have stated that the project provides “a unique opportunity to transform this closed, inward-looking site into a new vibrant, welcoming, sustainable urban community with a distinctive identity, which will be integrated into the wider community of Ballysimon, Singland, Garryowen and Rhebogue.”
A detailed masterplan has also revealed plans to link the development to the River Groody the neighbouring Chesterfield Grove Park, and open a civic space.
The Parkway Valley/Horizon Mall saga is one of the longest-running development stories in modern Limerick history.
The site beside the Parkway Retail Park on Dublin Road was conceived during the Celtic Tiger as a major retail and leisure destination that would rival the biggest shopping centres in Munster.
Construction began, but the 2008 crash effectively killed the project, leaving behind a huge unfinished shell that became one of Limerick's most prominent ‘ghost developments’ for more than a decade.
In 2014, it was mooted to become the home of Limerick’s first ever branch of Marks and Spencer.
However, the proposal fell through after the newly merged council ruled out major retail development outside the city centre."
A succession of redevelopment proposals came and went, the most significant in 2022 when An Bord Pleanála refused permission for a mixed-use commercial and community scheme.
A year later, Limerick Live exclusively revealed the purchase of the site by Kirkland Investments.
Planners are expected to make a decision on the proposals by late next month.