New plans have been submitted to demolish the former St Josephs Convent in Cork city to make way for hundreds of new student apartments.
Significant revisions have been made to the initial plans first sent to Cork City Council in December 2023, with the scale of the development being downsized, after what is understood to have been concerns raised by local residents and representatives.
The old convent on Model Farm Road – which in more recent years was used as a nursing home – is to be knocked for the €29 million development under plans submitted by Lynonshall Limited – the same company behind the redevelopment of the Ursuline Convent on Blackrock Road, among a number of big housing developments around the city.
The two apartment blocks, which will range in size between two to five storeys tall, will provide 408 student beds alongside a cafe and extensive bike storage. The modern buildings will comprise of 56 units with between three and seven bedrooms each and 73 studio flats.
The accommodation will be accessible from Model Farm Road by a new connecting road and will provide spaces for car parking and cyclists.
It follows initial plans – reported by CorkBeo – that were refused by Cork City Council in February 2024. Those original plans were for 450 student beds in three staggered blocks comprised of 42 apartments and 224 studio flats. The number has since been reduced to 408, which includes the reduction of studio flats to 73.
Planning documents prepared by architects O’Mahony Pike say their design has taken into account the existing residential neighbourhood, as well as the more modern apartment buildings at Dennehy’s Cross.
The developer said the convent site is “located close to major Cork institutions, and on a major public transport route, and therefore ideally situated for a residential scheme optimising its land use.”
This development is just one of a significant number of new housing developments for the city, with plans for another major apartment complex at the Cork Docklands, right beside Pairc Ui Chaomih submitted this week. The outline scheme is for a total of 176 residential units – comprising a mix of 1, 2 and 3-bed apartments – in housing blocks between seven to 10 storeys tall over podium level.