ÁRAS PHÁDRAIG MOVES FORWARD
A SENIOR Engineer has been appointed to oversee plans for the prime Áras Phadraig site in Killarney this year.
More than 10 years after attempts were made by the Franciscan Order, who previously owned the site, to transfer the property to the local authority, progress has finally been made.
Town manager Angela McAllen confirmed to councillors at last week’s Killarney Municipal Council meeting that Kerry County Council are now the owners of Áras Phadraig.
“We are the full owners,” she said.
The transfer of the property to Kerry County Council has been behest by legal difficulties, but all issues have now been resolved.
This will allow plans for the site to progress in 2020, and it is hoped to see a complete redevelopment of the site in the coming years.
Drawings for the development site will be brought before councillors in the Killarney Municipal District in the coming months, in the first quarter of this year, according to Ms McAllen. A master-plan for the site has been underway in the past year, but the final proposals must be agreed upon yet.
A senior engineer dedicated to the development of the site has also been appointed, the Killarney meeting heard, and their role will be to progress the final plans for the site.
Among the proposals that had been proposed were a multi-storey car park and an arts centre and theatre, including meeting rooms and public space for the benefit of the town.
A car park is vital for the town, and councillors have long called for more parking to be created.
Áras Phadraig was built in 1960 and extended in the mid1980s. Over the years, it has been a social hub for the town of Killarney.
It has been lying idle for many years, and it is now hoped to see the area regenerated. The condition of the building has deteriorated and is in need of modernisation.