Comers in talks with Council over Corrib Great Southern

Galway City Tribune – The owners of the derelict former Corrib Great Southern hotel have held discussions with officials at City Hall about plans to redevelop the site.

Billionaire Luke Comer has confirmed to the Galway City Tribune that the Comer Group is planning to build apartments, student accommodation and some retail space on the site.

It comes as a city councillor highlighted how €112,500 in Dereliction Site Levies for the site on the Dublin Road – owed since March of this year – have not been paid yet.

Mr Comer confirmed a number of meetings have taken place recently with city planners about developing the site.

“The plan is for apartments, some retail and some student accommodation” on the site. “We’re waiting for it to be rezoned, with the help of [city councillors]. I think it’s going to be resolved now, we had meetings with planners in recent times,” he said.

The Council confirmed that €112,500 “remains outstanding in full”, adding that its preference is that the amount is paid in full in the 2019 calendar year.

Mr Comer said: “It was derelict when we bought it, and we boarded it up, because it was being robbed left, right and centre and we boarded it up and have kept it in good condition until we try and get the planning resolved. It was beyond saving as a hotel. It would have cost many millions to convert it back into a hotel again and that wasn’t a viable option.”

The Corrib Great Southern site is jointly owned by Trigo Property Company Ltd (part of the Comer Group) and Welcorrib Ltd (owned by Clonbur-based husband and wife Padraic and Martina McHale of the McHale Group).
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