It’ll be completed by September 2022.

A planning application for a €25m 279-bed student accommodation development at the former Munster Furniture site on North Main Street has been approved by An Bord Pleanála.

The BMOR development of 49 apartments will include a communal workspace, 142 bicycle parking spaces, a gym, library and laundry room for residents, as well as a café and restaurant.

The building will also feature lounge areas, gardens at ground floor level and rooftop terraces at first, fourth, fifth and sixth floor levels and Coleman’s Lane will be reinstated along the southern
boundary of the site.

Designed by O’Mahony Pike Architects, it is hoped the scheme will kickstart the regeneration of the area, which was closed to traffic for a time last summer after a partial building collapse in June.

Because the site, located in Cork’s medieval core, is “within the zone of archaeological potential” for Cork City, the developers have assured planners that the design and layout of the scheme will consider all these issues and measures are in place to address any concerns.

According to the company website, BMOR & Partners acquired the site in April 2018. They believe the scheme will “drive the regeneration of Cork’s most historic street and reinstate a historic laneway.”

Three of BMOR’s directors are Cork natives and the property investment company, which is based in London, recently opened an office on Cork’s South Mall.

Images: BMOR