Revised plans to turn a former pub and nightclub site on Catherine Street in Limerick city centre into 76 apartments have been approved. Limerick City and County Council has given Thanos Securities the go-ahead for the development at 34-41 Catherine Street, subject to 15 conditions.
The scheme would replace a long-closed nightlife site with homes aimed at owner occupation or long-term rental. The Desmond Arms pub, which once occupied the location with the Cheers nightclub, has been shut for over 20 years, leaving a central stretch of the city centre tied up in a use that no longer existed.
Under the plans, 34 Catherine Street is to be demolished and replaced by two one-bedroom apartments. Numbers 35 and 37, both protected structures, are to be refurbished and altered, while 36 Catherine Street is also to be refurbished and altered. The buildings at 38-41 Catherine Street are to be demolished and replaced with a six-storey residential development.
The new block would contain 38 two-bedroom apartments and 30 one-bedroom apartments. A semi-basement level with 11 car-parking spaces is planned for the former nightclub site, along with a secure bicycle store, an ESB room, an attenuation tank and plant rooms. A communal roof terrace is planned for the fifth floor, and a screened plant area is proposed for the sixth.
The approval closes one chapter on a site that has sat in the memory of Limerick nightlife for years and opens another built around permanent housing. The question now is not whether the former Desmond Arms can be brought back to life, but how quickly the approved scheme can move from paper to construction in the middle of the city centre.
