6 December 2023
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie

The main City Centre Park is being renewed to an architectural design with less grass

Bishop Lucey Park has closed to the public from today. It’s to facilitate enabling works ahead of the main redevelopment of the Park, commencing early 2024.

The regeneration of the Grand Parade Quarter is one of the most transformative and ambitious public realm programmes ever undertaken in the city.

As part of the project, the city centre park will be renewed based on an award-winning architectural design by Hall Mc Knight Architects that will open up the park to the wider city centre.

The closure of the park will facilitate the following enabling works:

• The hoarding of the park;
• The removal to storage of park furniture;
• The careful removal and storage of all sculptures, plaques and signage;
• Advance investigative works.

The redeveloped park will include:

• Improved access to the historic city wall;
• A new events pavilion and plaza;
• Improved access and seating for all;
• A new tower to mark the eastern entrance.

The redevelopment works are expected to be completed in the early part of 2025.

The Grand Parade Quarter project will see a complete renewal of the area around the southern gateway to the medieval city, connecting the Grand Parade and a series of historic lanes, streets and Bishop Lucey Park with the south channel of the River Lee and the city centre business core.