Issues affecting retail

James McNulty

First time yesterday in the City Centre in a long time due to work etc etc. It's a shadow of it's former self. I can't see a way back unless there is massive investment in housing and specifically housing for those with jobs.

Cookiemunster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123319141#Comment_123319141

You saw an article about a so called shopping centre (it was anything but) being refused permission because it didn't include any residential accommodation. You obviously didn't read past the headline.

There won't be a lot of accommodation in the Opera development, but there won't be zero accommodation either. There are 6 new apartments being build next to the new library and the upper floors of the Georgian buildings on Patrick St are to be apartments.

And there are loads of buildings in the city having their empty floors above retail being converted into apartments, either recently or currently with planning permission for more already granted.

timesnewroman

Expanding the conversation to footfall and broader city centre activity, I feel there simply aren’t enough attractions or events to draw families into town. When events do happen - like the Halloween and Christmas parades, or Riverfest - they’re usually well attended. The Easter holidays are fast approaching and parents are only crying out for things to do with their children. There can't be too many parents considering Limerick for a mini-break over Easter. We really don't help ourselves at times.

The Potato Market, in my view, is the biggest waste of space in the city centre. It could be completely re-imagined – I’d suggest a roof and modelling it like Altrincham Market near Manchester. A space like that, open five to six days a week with extended hours on weekends, could bring real energy to an attractive area of the city (a stones throw from the Opera site).

It’s a shame that all court proceedings weren’t moved entirely out of Merchant’s Quay. The courthouse could potentially have been converted into a theatre, adding more life to that part of town.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123320240#Comment_123320240

Focusing on having the Milk Market be more than a few hours a week would be much more achievable.

That or Wickham Way which I'm sure would happily be an all week thing if they thought it feasible.

What kind of family things could you run in a city for Easter. Are other cities doing big events for it ?

timesnewroman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123320287#Comment_123320287

I’m not even talking about Easter related events per-se, more family friendly attractions. For example, I know of two families who are separately going to Jurassic New Park in Kilkenny and Tralee Aqua-Dome with both families overnighting over Easter.

pigtown

Limerick is top of the list of disposable income outside of Dublin and has been for years but you wouldn't think it when you look at the retail and food offerings in the city.

Any list of top restaurants and cafes etc. that newspapers and magazines regularly publish have very few Limerick locations and the ones that are included are often not in the city itself.

So where is all of this disposable income being spent? I'd love if the Chamber of Commerce or the mayor undertook a detailed study of where this money goes - is it all to Cork/Dublin/etc.?

At least then we'd be in a better position to see what the city is lacking and then formulate a response to it.

black & white

The Kildare Village is 80/90 minutes from Limerick city centre, loads of local regs anytime I’m up there. Maybe that’s where people are spending

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123320719#Comment_123320719

Tourism. Every single place that is in those guides is a tourist destination. It's why only the Manor gets a look in for Limerick. It does seem impossible to have a high end restaurant unless it's a tourist destination like some old manor house or seaside destination. I do find there is a lot of lingering reverse snobbery in Limerick too.

There is also a bit of laziness from some papers. The Irish Times is just Dublin and places the Dublin writers go on holiday.

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123320719#Comment_123320719

Could we be so high on the list simply because we have a small number of very wealthy people by comparison to other counties?

I've always found the restaurant offerings to be quite decent for a city of our size. There's lots of selection and very few places I'd say the food is of bad quality

In the last few weeks a new shop has opened on the site of the old Argos building on Cruises Street and there's a notable increase in Saturday morning/afternoon footfall on that street since then.

I think a build-it-and-they-will-come mantra needs to be applied

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123321316#Comment_123321316

Limerick has never been a tourist destination, even Limerick people feck off to Kilkee or Ballybunion for a day trip when the sun comes out.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123333928#Comment_123333928

That was noticeable already with the decent weather this weekend.

It's amazing when you think of it how many people in Limerick own or long term rent holiday accommodation. Certain generations certainly aren't short of cash in this city.

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123333984#Comment_123333984

I was more referring to day-trippers but you make a valid point. Certain generations bought their houses for half of what the other generations bought for and then financed them with cheap-as-chips tracker mortgages. I bought myself 3 years ago and if I got their deal I'd have a holiday home somewhere as well

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123320781#Comment_123320781

Not exactly comparing like-with-like. 125 shops at kildare village, free parking and easy access from the motorway. People go to Kildare village specifically to go to a shop that isn't in any other part of the country. If we had an outlet village in Limerick we would have the same situation just it wouldn't be in kildare

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123334325#Comment_123334325

It's also just the du jour trendy place to go.