Former Genesis nightclub could be knocked to make way for student housing

The former Genesis nightclub on the Dublin Road could be demolished and the adjacent Tack Room pub refurbished, it's been revealed, as part of new plans for a student housing project.

PF&4Ds Ltd has submitted a proposal seeking approval to extend and complete an already established student housing development, Heatherview Court, Dublin Road, Athlone.

“The proposed development proposes an additional five blocks of student accommodation, to complete the existing five block campus that the applicant owns and operates,” the planning report states, adding that the 91 residential units, would be grouped in 26 apartments over five two to three storey blocks.

“The residential scheme includes single rooms with study and integrated en-suites in minimum groups of three and four bedrooms with shared communal living areas,” the report adds.

The plan uses a derelict site, and “requires the demolition of the former Genesis Nightclub” and the “consolidation and renewal of the existing Tack Room pub, including works to the fenestration" or arrangement of windows to “align the fresh, modern designs proposed for the subject site” at Dublin Road, Bonavalley.

TUS is located close to the site, with over 7,000 students currently, a figure expected to rise by 1,000 with the completion of a new multimillion euro STEM facility by 2025, the applicant says, and over 1,000 lecturers and support staff,

“The proposed development makes absolute sense from the reimagined use of a brownfield site to a sustainable Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) facility 250m from the entrance to TUS, where walking is easier than the use of a private car,” the planning report also argues, adding that the reconfigured pub façade will also offer a “planning gain” along with a defined streetscape which would set a precedent for “future development and regeneration in the area”.

The development will involve the "partial demolition of an existing public house at ground level and residential accommodation at first floor level" and the construction of "internal and external alterations" to the pub, along with parking, landscaping, a new boundary treatment and the provision of bin and bicycle stores. In addition, there would be works to the existing entrance, including the demolition of disused derelict sheds and the realignment of the front boundary wall to allow for the extension of the public footpath.

Westmeath County Council is due to announce a decision on the new student housing proposal by July 18.