Galway Bay fm newsroom - A newly published feasibility study says the Dyke Road could be transformed into a major urban development worth €200m that would alter the city centre skyline
The study on the area owned by the City Council - which currently houses the Black Box theatre and a car park - has been presented at City Hall
The 4.5 acre site at Dyke Road is primarily a 535 space car-park, with the Black Box Theatre sited on one acre at the north end.
The Black Box has long been recognised as no longer being fit for purpose and in need of either extensive upgrade works or outright replacement.
However, a feasibility study on the site carried out by the Land Development Agency has revealed it could potentially be radically transformed into a major urban centre, with or without the Black Box.
The study centered on ensuring maximum commercial viability from the site and regeneration of the wider area - to allow reinvestment in cultural facilities.
Two visions were presented at City Hall last evening; both comprised of a mix of high-rise office and retail space, as well as multi-storey car parking and a hotel.
While student accommodation was also touted as a possibility, residential units were ruled out as being commercially non-viable.
Also included in the presentation for the possible future of the site was a walkway bridge across the Corrib, connecting Dyke Road with NUI Galway.
While one potential vision did not include the Black Box Theatre, City CEO Brendan McGrath offered an assurance that cultural facilities are not being forgotten about.
He said proposals are to be brought forward separately in the very near future to advance cultural facility projects.
He said that leaving the Dyke Road site as it is and just upgrading the Black Box would cost north of €20m and would not be an overly viable option.
It was stressed that the presentation was merely a feasibility study on the potential for the site; it is not a final vision nor is it any guarantee on what will happen in future.
