As 2023 draws to an end, we can reflect on the year behind us and prepare for the year ahead. Our Project Management team had a busy and enjoyable 2023, working on residential, education, tourism, leisure, energy, and commercial projects. As our portfolio of projects grew, so did our team, with the hiring of two Graduate Project Managers. It is the first time the Project Management team has taken on new graduates as part of the MKO Grad programme. This reflects the team’s commitment to developing the skills needed to meet the ever-growing demand for Project Managers with skills across our full range of services.
Housing remains a critical issue nationally, particularly in our cities, where there is a need to increase the delivery of housing. MKO has led a team that has worked tirelessly to deliver 101 new units at the Barr an Uisce development in Ballybane to the east of Galway City. The development consists of a mixture of semi-detached houses and apartments and a childcare facility. Many of these units are now occupied, with more families due to move into their new homes in the coming weeks. Knowing that we’re contributing to help alleviate the impacts of the housing crisis is a great reward for the hard work which has taken this project from its inception to completion over the last number of years. The residential sector is a growing area for our Project Management team, and we look forward to helping deliver more homes in 2024.
In 2023, the Higher Education sector remained a core element of our work within the Project Management team. Our team has been involved at all stages of delivering new facilities across the sector.
- At the Technological University of Shannon (TUS), we are fulfilling a Project Coordinator role on the Coonagh Campus Phase 1 project, a transformative project for TUS, which is approaching completion in the coming weeks. We were also involved in the delivery of new teaching spaces in Moylish during 2023, and we continue to provide capital development advisory services to support TUS’s capital development goals around growth and sustainability.
- At the Atlantic Technological University (ATU), we oversaw the delivery of three new Science Labs during the Summer break, with three more labs to follow ahead of the next semester. Finishing touches are being applied to several new electrical apprenticeship workshops and engineering labs, and these will be ready to train the next generation of construction workers from January. Furthermore, we are publishing the second stage works tender for an energy retrofit of the ATU’s Centre for Creative Arts and Media in Galway City. This is a protected structure and part of a national pathfinder programme relating to improving the energy credentials of our public building stock.
- In Mary Immaculate College (MIC), we have helped MIC to obtain approval for and to recommence their Library project, which will be the largest capital project to date for the College, providing appropriate learning settings and resources for future generations of MIC students. MKO is fulfilling a Project Coordinator role on this project, and we also support a wide range of other projects in MIC at various stages of the project lifecycle.
- At the University of Galway (UG), we helped procure a Design Team for a Brief Development and Site Selection Survey for the Peatlands and People project, which looks to catalyse the re-invigoration of our native peatlands over the coming years.
In addition to the numerous construction projects we have worked on within the education sector, our Project Management team has also offered valuable estate strategy advice to several education institutions seeking guidance on utilising their estates best and planning for the future.
Throughout 2023, we have worked closely with key providers in the Tourism and Leisure sector. Significant refurbishments have been completed in both the Galway Racecourse and the Hardiman Hotel on Eyre Square under the supervision of MKO’s Project Managers. These projects comprised extensive work and delivered top-quality experiences for both the client and end users.
In the commercial sector, our team delivered a new office construction and fit-out for Platform 94. This facility provides a space to incubate new commercial and research entities. We look forward to continuing to work on exciting projects in 2024.