A BIG step forward has been taken on the road towards Mayor John Moran’s modular housing plans for Limerick.
Design contracts were signed for the delivery of the Mayor’s ‘SMART’ housing initiative, which the Mayor’s office said is “intended to accelerate the delivery of affordable, high-quality rental homes for the thousands of workers and others who are finding difficulty accessing the private rental market”.
According to the Mayor’s office, the modular homes – which went on preview in October this year in Arthur’s Quay – are designed for one-to-two-person households, “who currently represent over half of Limerick’s housing need”.
The Mayor’s office confirmed that a design team was appointed following a competitive tender process, naming Cotter and Naessens Architects as leading the architectural design phase of the project. Garland Consulting Engineers were appointed to lead on civil and structural engineering in delivering the project’s initial phase.
The Mayor’s office said it anticipates to deliver around 750 modular homes with rents “significantly below current market rates” on Council-owned “zoned sites near employment, education, and transport hubs, but with the potential to be development in partnership with major employers in Limerick”.
The announcement comes, the Mayor’s office said, after the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage acknowledged “the merits of Limerick’s new approach”, and committed to supporting a pathfinder of the Mayor’s modular housing programme in the recent National Housing Plan to the tune of 150 homes.
A formal funding submission is to issue in early 2026 from Limerick City and County Council to the Department to secure overall capital funding for this pathfinder, including its design team fees, the Mayor’s office said.
Design team fees for the remainder of the sites outside of the pathfinder will be funded from the Mayor’s own fund.
Mayor Moran said his modular housing programme is “targeted to those in need of affordable rental homes for whom the private rental market is not working”.
“With the approval of the Department of our plans now in place, we are driving forward, following the successful display of two cutting-edge prototypes at Arthur’s Quay Park over the last number of months. We know Limerick can be the pilot city in delivering homes faster and more sustainably but there is no time to lose.”