Reviving urban living by reducing property vacancy and dereliction: Waterford City and County Council’s award winning initiative

This article is part of LGIU’s series covering the winners of the 2024 Chambers Ireland Excellence in Local Government Awards. Waterford City and County Council won the Urban Revival category for their Reviving Urban Living by reducing Property vacancy and dereliction project. 

‘Reviving Urban Living by reducing Property vacancy and dereliction’ is an initiative that substantially promotes urbanism through improving and enhancing the lived experience in urban environments, by activating and encouraging reuse of vacant and derelict properties.

An outstanding example of the efforts to enhance urban living in Waterford includes St. Joesph’s House.

St. Joseph’s House is a former religious convent constructed by the Little Sisters of the Poor in 1874 who dedicated their lives to caring for the elderly. The site comprises of the Main Convent Building, Courtyard Buildings, Presbytery Building, School House and the Gate House.

In 2010, The Little Sisters vacated the site to move to a purpose-built facility in Waterford and the site on Manor Hill had since been mostly vacant since then until Walsh & Sheehan Investments purchased the site in 2019. Discussions then took place with Waterford City and County Council with the proposal to refurbish the main house along with the ancillary buildings using the Repair and Lease Scheme. St Joseph’s House was a landmark building with an elevated position which was in need of significant attention to mitigate further significant deterioration.

The Repair and Lease Scheme Model is based on a collaboration between the Local Authority, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and private owners, architects and contractors with identified end use.

Additional stakeholders are the following housing sections of Waterford City and County Council – Maintenance, Facilities Management, Allocations Team, Community Supports, Tenancy Management & Tenant Engagement Officer and Age Friendly Specialists.

Waterford City and County Council

In December 2021, works commenced on site and concluded in June 2023 when the 71 units were handed over to Waterford City & County Council. The building was officially opened on 16th June 2023 by Minister for Housing Darragh O Brien, and on 28th July 2023, the keys for the first unit were handed out with full capacity achieved in January 2024.

St Joseph’s House aims to provide age friendly housing appropriate to the needs of older adults in Waterford, in line with the Waterford Age Friendly Strategy, as well as promoting and supporting independent living and ageing in place.

The development of 71 units offers age friendly and adaptable apartment layouts within the existing structure of the building. St Joseph’s House’s prime city centre location aims to ensure convenient access to a comprehensive range of local services and facilities, including close proximity to bus stops, hospitals, primary care centres, shops, libraries, etc. The dwelling units are complemented by well-designed external spaces, which aim to foster a strong connection to the outdoors for recreational and functional needs. Despite the site’s topography, gently sloping walkways interconnect various areas and establish a seamless connection to the surrounding community.

There is also a multipurpose community room, that was once the chapel, which provides opportunities for health, social and tailored community supports for residents. The room will be developed over the coming year through the employment of a Tenant Engagement Officer by Waterford City and County Council and the recently established St Joseph’s Tenants Forum/Residents Association. In the long term, a Social Enterprise Initiative will also be developed within St Joseph’s House.

The target group is older adults aged 55 years and over. The 2020 Summary of Social Housing Assessment informed the breakdown of unit types which were required in this development which indicated that out of Waterford Council’s qualified 1,267 households, 22% were aged over 50. There was also an indication that 57% of qualified households were single person households. 2022 CSO data shows the age profile for Waterford population with approx. 30% or 38,000 are over 55.

In the context of Waterford City and County Council’s Rightsizing Policy, “Rightsizing” refers to the deliberate action of transitioning to more suitable housing later in life. The allocation of 20 transfer units facilitated older adults who wished to ‘right size’ as well as the strategic reassignment of existing larger residences to families in need, in accordance with the Rightsizing Policy.

The provision of Age Friendly Housing is an action under the Housing for All Plan. Older adults benefit from affordable, accessible and safe housing which are appropriate to their needs, as well as having a sense of community which enhances connections, alleviates social isolation/loneliness and improves overall health and wellbeing.

Residents and tenants of St Joseph’s are key to the future development of St Joseph’s and the Tenant Engagement Officer has recently supported the setting up of a Residents Association/Tenants Forum in St Joseph’s.

There are also links established via the Tenant Engagement Officer with key community and voluntary organisations and statutory agencies in the local area with the aim of providing a range of supports to residents, e.g. health, social, wellbeing, etc. and assisting with the integration of St Joseph’s into the wider community.

Finally, Waterford City and County Council contracted South East Technological University to undertake a needs analysis with residents in St Joseph’s House to ascertain residents’ needs regarding tenancy, health, social and community supports, as well as the strengths and skills of residents in St Josephs.