WATCH Opera Square will be one of the great 21st century developments in Limerick

Opera Square will be one of the great 21st century developments in Limerick. Limerick Twenty Thirty CEO, David Conway hosted a summer briefing inviting local media on site for the first time since the vast €300m development began

First view of Opera Square project reveals Limerick Twenty Thirty’s world-class development ambition

Seeing is believing and so it proved as the first view of the now rapidly emerging Opera Square project revealed that Limerick Twenty Thirty’s ambition for a world-class development is far from overstated.  

A ‘summer briefing’ invited local media onto the site for the first time since the vast €300m development began, giving the clearest sight yet of what is unfolding behind the colourful hoardings enveloping the 3.7acre project.  

Opera Square has been flagged heavily for its transformational potential for the city and region and the site visit confirmed just why, such was the level of detail, planning, design, forward-planning and sustainability wrapped into the presentation by David Conway and his team, as well as a tour of the rapidly advancing site.  

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What was most striking was the sheer scale of the site and the works, which can only be appreciated from inside the hoarding.  Such is the vastness and the complexities of the project – not least around the meticulous and expensive preservation of the Georgian heritage – that it quickly unfolded why the demolition and enabling works was such an arduous programme.  

The ambition for a world-class development is further strengthened by Limerick Twenty Thirty’s determination to ensure that sustainability focussed designs and construction practices are to the forefront from the get-go.  

The exemplar programme involved tracking and reusing demolition materials in the largest demolition programme of this type ever undertaken nationally. Such was the success of this element of the programme that the materials reuse target of 70% for the enabling works of the project, set by Limerick Twenty Thirty for works contractor John Sisk & Son, ended up returning a 98% reuse outcome, setting a new national standard for deployment of circular economy principles in construction.  

The painstaking efforts to retain 16 of the 18 Georgian buildings on the site also reflects Limerick Twenty Thirty’s commitment to a world-class outcome. Today this is evident in steel skeletal supports wrapped around a number of such Georgian buildings to ensure their preservation. These particular buildings will emerge as part of a stunning, new city library, work on which commences later this year. A library that will be unrivalled in terms of its architectural mix, its deployment of technology and, of course, sustainability. A true community space where people can gather, read, and take advantage of a range of amenities, including sensory rooms, recording studios, and much more.

The development will also deliver Limerick’s newest and largest public realm square, including its centrepiece – a ‘mirror pool’ in the plaza area in the heart of the site. The pool will come with just a sliver of surface water that can be drained quickly to enable it morph into an entertainment space for concerts, fanzones – the 2027 Ryder Cup targeted as the first major one – and more.  

The wider Opera Square programme has a completion target of the end of 2026. As David Conway states, “You always need a deadline and that’s ours. And it’s very much set with the Ryder Cup in mind. For that week, Limerick will be centre stage globally for one of the world’s biggest sporting events. It’s when Limerick puts its best foot forward like never before and from a city centre perspective, we want Opera Square to be that best foot.”

To meet this target, a number of the landmark projects on the site will be developed in parallel; hence the construction works on site peaking at 500 from today’s 200. So far, some 250,000 man-hours have already been deployed on works there.  But One Opera Square is the current concentration. Work on the building’s super structure commenced as recently as March and already it’s towering out of the ground, with four of the six floors constructed, already giving a new vista of Limerick and setting a new standard for Limerick that will be replicated across the site. “Start as we mean to go on,” says David Conway.

The project is a 50/50 Joint Venture between the company and the Irish Strategic Investment Fund and Limerick Twenty Thirty that will see the delivery of 10,000 sq m of office building, with retail offering on ground floor. It will be completed to landlord fit-out stage by the first quarter of 2025, ready for a tenant fitout.

The building will deliver some 12,111m2 of Grade A Office Space – enough for 1,000 employees – to world-class LEED Platinum, WELL and Wiredscore Platinum levels – the top global sustainability standards.  

“That’s the level companies want, not least FDI,” Conway explains. “One Opera Square will be built to the highest ESG standards and there’s a requirement on large companies now to report their ESG record in their annual reports. This building will tick that box brilliantly and we’ve already had a number of enquiries. So, we are very confident that this will fill quickly. The other edge we have is that we’re delivering a standard here at rates that will be much more attractive than what the equivalent would cost in Dublin, Cork or Galway. So, companies will get more for less.”

The level of activity is already eye-catching, what you’d expect to see in any major European city. But it’s about to get another level.

By year end, we will see activity starting on the library, as well as work commencing on another building that will fulfil Limerick Twenty Thirty’s mission to enable economic development and investment in Limerick, the Landmark Building at Bank Place. This 14-storey will become Limerick’s tallest, setting a new city skyline and will have the OPW as its principal resident, along with other state agencies yet to be confirmed. It can accommodate some 950 employees.  The building, complete with three roof-top terraces, was redesigned last year with enhanced Georgian character.

Other developments will be a 57bed aparthotel or hotel (subject to planning), 18 apartments across former Georgian properties, the regeneration of the 18th century Granary building into office space and ground floor restaurant, and the Four Opera Square building, with four storeys of Grade A Office Space with capacity for 250 employees.

The Limerick Twenty Thirty CEO believes that Opera Square will mark Limerick out for generations to come. “We’re hugely ambitious in what we do for Limerick. We believe that Limerick has the potential to compete with leading European cities as a destination to live, work and play in.

“Opera Square is going to be a key enabler of this. Together with what we will be doing at Cleeves, projects like the International Rugby Experience, the 1BQ project, the redevelopment of the Dunnes Stores Site, we’re setting Limerick up for a great new era.  

“Opera Square will be one of the great developments of the 21st century not just in Limerick but nationally. The mix between the stunning architecture of the Georgian era and cutting-edge design standards today, the world-class sustainability standards, the different building uses and then the public realm aspect is going to be unique. We want Opera Square to mark this era in Limerick in the same was as Georgian buildings marked the seventeen and eighteen hundreds. This is the legacy we want to create here.”

Find out more about Limerick 2030 here
Read more Opera Site stories here