Plans have been submitted to the city council for the construction of a new urban quarter at the north eastern end of Galway City, with hundreds of apartments, a hotel, leisure centre, and office blocks.
Strategic Land Investments is seeking planning permission for a mixed-use development on a 6.81ha site off the Tuam Road at Galway City North Business Park, which will consist of 13 blocks ranging from two to eight storeys tall.
These will include four blocks of offices ranging from four to five storeys in height, and nine blocks of apartments ranging from two to eight storeys.
These will contain a total of 309 apartments, comprising 118 one-bed units, 143 two-bed apartments, 42 three-bed units, 3 four-bed units, and three studio apartments.
The residential element will also include amenities such as co-working spaces, a gym, and a workshop/bike repair area.
Other amenities planned for the larger urban quarter include a creche and a cultural centre with multiple planned uses such as a ground floor exhibition space, meeting rooms, party rooms, and community cafe.
The district will also feature an eight storey hotel with 150 guest bedrooms and 72 apart hotel units, along with a restaurant and bar, and conference facilities.
A leisure centre and spa will include an indoor swimming pool and gym, along with treatment rooms and exercise studios.
If approval is given by Galway City Council it is expected that this development will be delivered in two phases.
Phase 1 will consist of all the residential blocks, the hotel, leisure centre, commercial units, and one office block facing onto the Tuam Road, while Phase 2 will see the construction of the remaining office buildings at the other end of the site.
The overall estimated delivery time for construction of all elements of the development is 10 years according to the planning application.
Currently the primary access point to this site is off the Tuam Road, but the application notes that the proposed N6 Bypass will cross the N83 Tuam Road “immediately north” of this development, and it is proposed that main access would be off the Ring Road.
In total the development will have 788 car parking spaces, and 1,116 bicycle spaces. Of the car parking spaces 62 are for the hotel, and one space each has been calculated for the apartments.
The low level of car parking for a development of this size, which has a maximum calculated provision of 1,674 parking spaces, is meant to “advance the residents and staff consideration of alternative transport modes,” the application states.
The development will feature a “hierarchy” of public spaces, with different functions, scales, and intimacy levels in mind for two main squares.
“West Square is envisaged as a predominantly community space with a range of commercial activities available to all users.”
“East Square is envisaged as a more active recreational space for residents and office workers throughout the day and evening,” the plans state, with both squares joined by two parallel streets that will allow for continuing commercial activity.
Public submissions related to these plans can be made to Galway City Council until November 15, and a decision on whether to grant planning permission for the project is due by December 6 of this year.
