UrbanRenewal Smithfield Market, a €500 million residential, commercial and cultural development near the Liffey, is set to focus attention on Dublin's northside. Edel Morgan reports.
Fusano Properties is hoping that Smithfield Market, a 92,903 sq m (1 million sq ft) residential, commercial and cultural quarter under construction in the heart of Smithfield, will finally shift some of the focus to the northside of the Liffey - making it a more desirable place to live, work and play.
Any comparisons with Temple Bar, however, are misleading say the developers. "We wouldn't want it to be like Temple Bar," says Chris Kelly of Fusano Properties.
"It will be a much more peaceful place. We are hoping it will emulate the New York example where everything - from your launderette, hairdresser, and your masseuse - is only a block away, and that people will live, work and socialise within the same area."
Fusano Properties is a consortium of a number of Dublin's major developers - Paddy Kelly, Joseph Linders, John Flynn and Edward Brady - and a number of their offspring are involved in spearheading the €500 million Smithfield Market, which they claim is the biggest development of its kind in the country apart from Spencer Dock.
It will comprise a total of 480 apartments, of which 260 are sold, 1,114 sq m (12,000 sq ft) of offices in two buildings, a 100-bed hotel and a 102 sq m (1,100 sq ft) foodstore.
The last has attracted substantial interest, says joint agent for the commercial elements, Palmer McCormack, and is about to be sold by tender. DTZ Sherry FitzGerald is the other agent involved.
There will also be five or six café bars, restaurants, a gym and leisure centre with a 20-metre pool, sandwich bars, 650 sq m (7,000 sq ft) of retail and coffee shops and three levels of underground parking with 1,000 spaces, 40 of which will be for the general public.
There will be 5,574 sq m (60,000 sq ft) of cultural space including an arthouse cinema. A large plaza will form a central feature and double as a venue for outdoor events, food markets and concerts.
"It won't be a gated development that excludes local people," says Edward Brady of Fusano. "There will be access through the development."
Smithfield has yet to be reborn as a fully-fledged centre of attraction but Fusano believes this will change as rejuvenation of the area continues. The ice rink alone - situated in front of the Smithfield Market from November to January - has proven a major pull.
The impending arrival of the Luas will undoubtedly be a boon to the area as will the new Eastern Regional Health Authority (ERHA) headquarters and the plan to move the DIT campus to Grangegorman.
Fusano anticipates that around 5,000 people will work, live and socialise in the Smithfield Market quarter every day. Its proximity to the Four Courts is expected to attract the legal fraternity.
Fusano spent more than five years amalgamating the 4.5-acre site. Planning for the first part of the development went through a series of delays when it was appealed to An Bord Pleanála, although the developer says subsequent applications have gone through smoothly as a result of "continuing consultation" with local people.
Local concern centred around the height of the scheme (a central tower has been reduced from 23 storeys to 13), its design, and the percentage of social and affordable housing being allocated.
Fusano is providing a 185 sq m (2,000 sq ft) community centre and says it has taken in locals on apprenticeships.
None of those involved seems unduly worried about offloading the office element, either through sales or letting.
The availability of tax incentives to owner occupiers and investors and its central location are factors in their favour, they believe.
A number of skyscraper cranes hover over the site, which is in the very early stages of development, but Fusano predicts it will be completed by April 2005.
Edward Brady believes it will not only be an important addition to the area, but "pivotal" .
"There is already an established community here anyway in Dublin 7 but this will inject more vitality.
"It will be a catalyst for redevelopment and hopefully represent a power shift to the northside."
