Developments along River Shannon spur confidence in property market

The arrival of multinational companies, infrastructural developments, and rising local confidence in Limerick are buoying up the commercial property market which is now going through a phase of "catching up" on the State's other cities. Chief among its infrastructural projects is the £100 million main drainage scheme which will clean up the River Shannon. About four million gallons of waste water will be treated daily, and the resulting clean river will become the city's central amenity, overlooked by the new four-star Millennium Hotel on Steamboat Quay.

Long ignored, the river and quaysides became the centre of attention for apartment and office block development since the Arthur's Quay shopping development in the mid 1980s. "Limerick has done very well, particularly since the whole introduction of the urban renewal programme in 1984," says P J Power of Power & Associates auctioneers. New apartments being built on Howley's Quay are expected to sell for between £200,000 and £250,000 in a city which is behind Dublin, Cork and Galway for house prices. But the river will offer more than just a view of Shannon waters.

The construction of a floating dock and lock gate will increase the navigation "window" at the mouth of the estuary from 40 minutes to about 16 hours a day. Boats will be able to moor in central Limerick along Arthur's Quay and Custom House Quay, an area which is envisaged to become a "Left Bank" for the city. Mr Pat Daly, Shannon Development's Limerick manager, says that rather than having a marina, berthing facilities will be provided as "a kind of ribbon development effect". He believes it will give a boost in the area for pub, restaurant and hotel facilities.

"I think it will probably attract more development around that area in terms of onshore facilities for people for overnight stays, " he says.

Road development in the city will alleviate traffic snarls in the city centre. Phase one of the Southern Ring Road project will divert Dublin-Cork traffic around the city. The second phase will see the opening of a new Shannon bridge by 2002, diverting traffic away from the city centre.

The new bridge, which will be down river from Limerick Port, will put pressure on the port's performance as a viable commercial entity. A recent Government-commissioned KPMG report notes that "it will always remain a niche business; nevertheless, there is no rationale to close it down". But with attention shifting to Foynes as the main commercial port for the West, the prospect of an industrial park for west Limerick has been alluded to by the Minister for the Marine, Mr Fahey. Mr Karl Stewart, of Lambert Smith Hampton, says traffic alleviation will provide a further boost to commercial development.

"It is becoming more progressive," he says of Limerick. "The greater the development, the more people will want to be there."

Despite the growing pressure for retailers to occupy larger units of between 2,000 sq ft and 2,500 sq ft, he says the Cruises Street area is still attracting the highest bidding for small premises. The confectioners Thorntons paid £92,000 for a leasehold premium, and Past Times, a nostalgia gift shop, sold

its leasehold for £105,000. "Most of the multiple retailers want to be there. But sometimes you cannot always get there."

"At the end of the day, what is happening is businesses in the city centre like Argos, Boots and H Samuel will be looking for an out-of-town unit because they are doing so well."

Retailers will have a choice of locations. Shopping developments are ongoing on the three main city approaches - the Dublin, Cork and Ennis roads - and city centre shopping will extend beyond the main thoroughfare of O'Connell Street to Henry Street with the development of the Spaights site.

Auctioneer Pat Chesser says that up to 500,000 sq ft of retail development is proposed for the Limerick area, between plans going ahead and applications in progress. "It would be hard to see all of those schemes surviving," he notes.

The population of 52,000 is burgeoning as the city redefines its role as a regional base, becoming a centre for technology companies and support industries and attracting the attendant office and industrial development.

"In the last 12 months, we have had a significant amount of investors coming in from Dublin to buy property," says auctioneer J C Gubbins.

"Limerick is losing its old image. It is coming on in leaps and bounds. The local people have now begun to have faith in the local economy."