THE largest ever student accommodation project in the country outside of the nation’s capital is set to bring 500 jobs to Limerick during its construction, set to kick off in the second quarter of this year.
Whitebox Development confirmed that it expects to commence work in the coming months on the €300million, 1,400-bed student accommodation complex at Groody in Limerick.
The development hasn’t been without controversy, with some at local level in recent months deeming planning applications for the student accommodation complex “premature” and claiming it will “cause greater traffic congestion in an already congested area”.
Now, Whitebox said the development, which has been granted planning permission, “will bring major relief to student accommodation deficits in Limerick”.
The student development will be delivered in two phases, according to Whitebox, with the first – comprising 724 beds – to be completed by mid-2028. The second phase will be completed 12 months later.
The housing complex will be developed on land fronting Groody Road and Dublin Road in Castletroy, near the University of Limerick, comprising of five blocks ranging from five to eight storeys.
The announcement follows the recent publication of the second National Student Accommodation Strategy, setting out a plan to support the delivery of 42,000 student beds by 2035.
Along with the housing units, the development will include a library, canteens, laundry facilities, a student union office, bicycle storage, landscaped courtyards, car and bicycle parking, boundary treatments, roof plant, public lighting, and other ancillary works.
“In total, approximately 500 people will be employed during construction, with 75 people employed on an ongoing basis at the completed campus,” a statement from developers Whitebox said.
The development was welcomed by Further and Higher Education Minister James Lawless, who deemed it a “win for the entire Limerick academic community. MIC students, like those at UL, will benefit directly from this accommodation.”
Managing director of Whitebox, Martin White, said the new €300million student accommodation is a “hugely important investment for Limerick” which would “make a real, lasting difference for students, families, and the entire region”.
“The scale of this development reflects our confidence in Limerick’s future as a thriving academic and economic hub, and our belief that students deserve access to quality, affordable, modern accommodation.”
The developer is also working on a new state-of-the-art cancer centre in Ballygrennan, which will be operated in a joint venture by UPMC and Bon Secours and “bring world-class oncology services to the Mid West”.
The student development has not been met with universal welcome, with the Limerick-based Environmental Trust Ireland (ETI) in recent months deeming planning applications around the accommodation “premature”, risking “greater traffic congestion in an already congested area”, and failing “to take into account the impacts of the proposed new through road from Golf Links Road to Groody Road”.
One local councillor for the area, Cllr Peter Doyle, speaking last November, welcomed the development but hit out that it is “on the wrong side of the Dublin to Limerick road”.
He called at the time for funding to be ring-fenced for a slip road between the development and the Dublin Road, stating that “residents of the housing estates adjacent to the Groody Road are locked in during peak times due to gridlock approaching the Groody Roundabout in the Dublin Road”.