Apartment building booming in Cork city - ‘Not everyone wants a semi-D’

By Peter McCarthy, Corkman

Almost a quarter of the housing completed in Cork city in the past four years and a half years has consisted of apartments with the number rising to over half for residential units commenced but not yet completed, figures from the Central Statistics Office show.

Some 4,800 new houses and apartments were completed in the city between January 2021 and July this year with the number of apartments amounting to 1,052 or 22pc of the total. Homes built in housing estates added up to 3,509 while 239 single houses were built.

Apartments made up an even bigger proportion in residential buildings commenced during the same period. Of the total of 8,335 residential units commenced between January 2021 and August this year, 4,225 or 51pc were apartments. Houses commenced in estates in the same period amounted to 3,905 while 205 single houses were commenced.

Cork City Councillor Oliver Moran sees the amount of apartment building in the city as a positive development.

"It's a phenomenon that might pass by a lot of people unnoticed. An apartment building in a place like Blackpool or the North Docks won't appear to take up a lot of space on the ground, but in terms of the number of homes, it's as big as any housing estate,” he told the Irish Independent.

"These numbers aren't through yet in terms of completions either. As with any development, it takes time for the phenomenon to work through from breaking ground to families moving in.”

The Green Party councillor for the North East Ward said that notable developments on the way include over 300 cost rental and affordable purchase apartments on Horgan's Quay. The Land Development Agency unblocked that development after it stalled in the private market, he said.

"We shouldn't shy away from that kind of thing – the state stepping in for housing – any more than we should stay hung up on assuming everyone wants a semi-D with a garden and parking. There are different lifestyles, different models for renting and buying. If we're going to get around this crisis, it needs to be everything all at once.”

A number of major apartment projects have been given the green light in Cork recently, including a 24-storey tower on Albert Quay and developments on two former industrial sites on the southside of the city.