New high-rise Athlone hotel plan
Planning approval is to be sought for a new ten-storey hotel development overlooking the Ballymahon Road in Athlone.
The proposed hotel, if it comes to pass, would be one of the tallest buildings in Athlone, approaching the height of the 12-storey Sheraton Hotel in the centre of town.
It would consist of 192 bedrooms in a part 10-storey and part 8-storey building that would be situated close to the Athlone Regional Sports Centre and the Brawny residential area.
In 2022, planning permission was granted on the same site for an office building development rising to a maximum height of nine storeys.
The Longford-based company behind that project, Avenir Assets Management DAC, last week signalled its intention to apply for alterations to the approved planning permission in order to facilitate the construction of the high-rise hotel.
The proposed hotel would include 192 bedrooms, a lounge, bar, restaurant and dining facilities, as well as gym, spa, conference and meeting facilities. Reception, kitchen, storage, staff welfare and service areas are also proposed.
The site in question borders the N6 dual carriageway and is accessed via the Brawny Road, on the approach to the regional sports centre.
Avenir Assets Management DAC said access to the hotel site would be through "previously permitted entrances" on the Brawny Road, and that the hotel would have a three-storey parking deck, which was approved two years ago, and involved 199 parking spaces.
The development would also incorporate plant areas, in a rooftop and integrated room space, as well as bicycle storage and ancillary works.
The developer last week advertised the intention to seek a five-year grant of planning permission for the new hotel, and a planning notice was erected at the site on Friday last.
The plans for the office block development originally approved for the site in 2022 indicated that it was designed to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) firms and blue chip companies, with the developer stating that it could cater for up to 500 workers.
However, the construction of the new office building has not commenced in the intervening period, and approval will now be sought to build a landmark hotel for Athlone on the same site.
Submissions from the public in relation to the project can be made within five weeks of the planning application being received by Westmeath County Council.