Limerick City and County Council has appointed a multidisciplinary design team to deliver a new Design and Innovation Hub at 35–39 Nicholas Street, commonly known as the Fireplace Site.

Following a competitive tender, Waterford-based dhb Architects has been awarded the contract, launching a major initiative to tackle vacancy and boost footfall on Nicholas Street and across King’s Island. Mayor John Moran signed the THRIVE grant documents in December, after Part 8 planning was approved by Metropolitan District councillors in March 2025. Construction is due to start in late 2026.

The scheme will renew 35–39 Nicholas Street by integrating the surviving medieval fireplace and neighbouring buildings into The Forge Design Factory — an education and innovation hub featuring studios, exhibition and retail space, and a café/restaurant — creating a vibrant destination at the heart of King’s Island.

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More than €6.5 million in funding was allocated in September 2025 through THRIVE, the Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme. THRIVE is a national regeneration programme led by the Government of Ireland and co-funded by the European Union via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The Forge Design Factory will:

- Provide studios for artists, makers and entrepreneurs

- Offer exhibition and retail spaces

- Deliver education, innovation and community engagement programmes

- Include a café/restaurant and outdoor area

- Champion sustainability, circular design and digital transformation

Transforming the Fireplace Site and adjoining structures is expected to bring immediate and lasting benefits to the community by breathing new life into one of Limerick's most historic streets. With new studios, exhibition space and a café woven into the site's historic fabric, the project aims to re-establish Nicholas Street as a welcoming place to live, work and visit, contributing to the wider regeneration of Limerick’s Medieval Quarter.

Mayor of Limerick, John Moran, said: "We promised to make 2026 a year of momentum delivered on the foundations laid in 2025.  I welcome this significant step forward in delivering The Forge Design Factory. I congratulate the team for being ready to move so quickly and so soon after I signed the grant documents in December. This transformative project will act as a catalyst for the wider regeneration of King’s Island and Nicholas Street, helped by the new public realm proposals we have been pursuing in parallel for the street. I now look forward to seeing existing design ideas from dhb Architects as we breathe new life into this historic part of our city - recognising its heritage value and its unrealised economic and cultural potential."