The old convent on Evergreen Road in Turners Cross is at the heart of a proposed development to renovate and extend the historic convent building to provide new refuge accommodation.
Cork City Council has unveiled its proposal to refurbish the old property into apartments and construct two new four-storey residential blocks - a total of 52 apartments.
The former Christ King Presentation Convent property, behind Bunscoil Chríost Rí, dates back to the 1930s.
In September 2025, an Architectural Heritage Impact Assessment was carried out on the 0.69-hectare site, including the convent building listed on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
The religious order has requested that the building be used for social good, specifically to provide accommodation for vulnerable women, children, and families.
The proposed development will comprise the demolition of parts of the old property and the renovation and extension of the existing convent.
The new Domestic Violence Refuge will consist of Support Services accommodation, including nine 1-bed apartments and 11 studio flats.
The project will also include two new 4-storey residential blocks comprising:
8 three-bedroom apartments
16 two-bedroom apartments
8 one-bedroom apartments
The convent building and its grounds have been unoccupied for years, and the assessment found the redevelopment would allow the building to be brought back into the "sustained and beneficial use... for the community."
The site is currently zoned for Sustainable Residential Neighbourhoods.
The Presentation Sisters were founded in Cork in 1775 by Nano Nagle.
The Order built the Convent in Turner’s Cross in the 1930s, following the completion of the Christ the King Church in 1931, which is considered ‘a landmark building in the history of architecture in Ireland’.
Bunscoil Chríost Rí was built in the mid-1940s and is still in use. The Christ the King Church, further down Evergreen Road, also maintains its religious function.
Cork City Council have opened its portal for submissions and observations, which can be made in writing or online.
Find more details here.