Opera Centre
Encyclopedia
The Opera Centre was a planned shopping centre in Limerick City
, Ireland
. Intended as a development for the city centre, one of the entrances will face the river at Bank Place, the other entrance will be on the junction of Patrick Street and Ellen Street. The complex has been named by the developers in honour of Limerick's famous "rags to riches" 18th century soprano Catherine Hayes
. The most striking aspects to the design of the Opera Centre are the two modern glass fronted entrances, set to become the flagship features. Other plans include the building of a stand alone three storey café / bar and restaurant with landscaped plaza and decking at Bank Place.
The other stand-out feature to the multi-million development is the "Sky Bridge", a glass and steel pedestrian bridge, which will link a new multi-storey car park
on Denmark Street with the centre at Ellen Street.
The project will involve the demolition of a substantial number of historic Georgian buildings. This has raised heritage concerns given that Limerick has the largest collection of Georgian architecture in Ireland outside of Georgian Dublin. In some cases the facades will be maintained but in general the outside perimeter will house service corridors. As a result, Patrick Street, Ellen Street and Micheal Street are likely to suffer a significant drop in footfall as the business and retail entrances disappear from these streets. The inward facing nature of the development has been criticised as being retrograde; in contrast, most newer inner-city shopping centre plans (for example that planned for Arnotts
or the redevelopment of the ILAC centre) attempt to face outwards adding life to the existing streets.
The project has been dubbed the largest shopping centre in Munster
.
The Original Developer, a Belfast
Company called Regeneration Developments Ltd has now sold on the plans and site of The Opera Centre to a Dublin Property Developer. This is not said to disrupt the development in any sort.
The site has since been sold to Limerick City Council. It is not yet known what use they will make of the site.
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Intended as a development for the city centre, one of the entrances will face the river at Bank Place, the other entrance will be on the junction of Patrick Street and Ellen Street. The complex has been named by the developers in honour of Limerick's famous "rags to riches" 18th century soprano Catherine Hayes
Catherine Hayes
Catherine Hayes [married name Bushnell] was the first Irish-born opera diva to achieve international acclaim....
. The most striking aspects to the design of the Opera Centre are the two modern glass fronted entrances, set to become the flagship features. Other plans include the building of a stand alone three storey café / bar and restaurant with landscaped plaza and decking at Bank Place.
The other stand-out feature to the multi-million development is the "Sky Bridge", a glass and steel pedestrian bridge, which will link a new multi-storey car park
Multi-storey car park
A multi-storey car-park is a building designed specifically to be for car parking and where there are a number of floors or levels on which parking takes place...
on Denmark Street with the centre at Ellen Street.
The project will involve the demolition of a substantial number of historic Georgian buildings. This has raised heritage concerns given that Limerick has the largest collection of Georgian architecture in Ireland outside of Georgian Dublin. In some cases the facades will be maintained but in general the outside perimeter will house service corridors. As a result, Patrick Street, Ellen Street and Micheal Street are likely to suffer a significant drop in footfall as the business and retail entrances disappear from these streets. The inward facing nature of the development has been criticised as being retrograde; in contrast, most newer inner-city shopping centre plans (for example that planned for Arnotts
Arnotts (Ireland)
Arnotts is the oldest and largest department store in Dublin, Ireland. The company has two stores in Dublin. Its flagship store is located on Henry Street on the northside of the city centre, and there is a smaller store selling mainly shoes in an outlet in Stillorgan Shopping Centre in south...
or the redevelopment of the ILAC centre) attempt to face outwards adding life to the existing streets.
The project has been dubbed the largest shopping centre in Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
.
The Original Developer, a Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
Company called Regeneration Developments Ltd has now sold on the plans and site of The Opera Centre to a Dublin Property Developer. This is not said to disrupt the development in any sort.
The site has since been sold to Limerick City Council. It is not yet known what use they will make of the site.