The Cork Docklands Development Strategy, a vision for the proposed new urban quarter in the city, will be unveiled formally tonight. The scope of the project is vast. Its cost will run to hundreds of millions of euros, and its effect on Cork city over the next two decades will be dramatic.
The docklands on either side of the Lee, already close to the city centre, will be swept away over the life of the plan, and replaced. In their place will be 6,000 new homes, including high-density apartments, office and retail space, part of the UCC campus, as well as culture and leisure facilities.
There will be six million square feet of space for non-residential use, new parks, a new marina, public spaces and pedestrian routes. The aspiration is that this part of old Cork, which has effectively been bypassed by other developments, will become integrated into city life and will be given a new vibrancy,
It will be achieved through a combination of public/private partnerships in which investors will be attracted by a local authority regime 100 per cent behind the plan, and the opportunity to be involved with what could become a very stylish Cork waterfront.
The cost of the development is hard to pin down but begins at multiples of £200 million (€254 million).
There will be a new crossing of the Lee at Water Street, giving access to the heart of the redeveloped area, a new public transport system will be dovetailed to give commuters a dedicated, efficient service to the city centre via the docklands, and pedestrian bridges will link the new docklands directly to the existing city centre.
Now that the plan has been formulated in a single document, the next phase will be to begin negotiations with potential investors.