The Office of Public Works (OPW) and Eircom are planning a €500 million development located opposite Heuston Station in Dublin.
The proposed development spans 14.3 acres over two separate sites and will, if approved by planers, include 650 apartments and 750,000 sq ft of office space aimed at accommodating 5,000 workers. The residential element, which will comprise 650 apartments, will include a 20 per cent provision for social and affordable housing.
When taken together, the two sites are expected to yield about €100 million, of which 75 per cent will accrue to the State.
It is understood that Eircom has not yet made a final decision on its long-term involvement with the completed development, but the availability of high-spec office buildings in the area is likely to appeal to the company.
Within recent weeks, the Eircom pension fund disposed of a property in Dublin's South King Street and the firm is known to have been vacating space in other buildings in the St Stephen's Green area.
The new project at St John's Road and Military Road covers one site which is jointly owned by Eircom and the OPW and a second owned outright by the State. This jointly owned 9.5-acre area, which will form the first phase of the overall development, is occupied by warehouses used by both the OPW and Eircom.
The second site, which is wholly owned by the OPW, is partly derelict but also houses some Garda buildings and parking facilities for the adjacent Eastern Health Board building.
Both sites will be accessible from Military Road, the route which runs between them.
The planned development will cover an area about twice the size of Temple Bar in Dublin's city centre and is likely to be designed to provide balance to the International Financial Services Centre in the docklands.
The OPW, which is legally unable to assume risk, will seek to take its money from the project as early as possible.
The initiative will be the OPW's first property joint venture. It forms a key component of plans by Minister of State, Mr Parlon, to extract maximum value from under-utilised State land. The Minister said earlier this week that five or six OPW sites had been marked as ripe for disposal this year. The State's land portfolio has been valued at about €2.5 billion.
The OPW and Eircom plan to submit a planning application for the new project before the end of May, with a view to completing the planning process within the coming 12 months.
Groups likely to take a particular interest in the development include: An Taisce, the Dublin Civic Trust, CIE, the Eastern Health Board and the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA).
Local residents are also expected to closely follow the application. If it is approved, construction is likely to commence towards the end of next year and will probably last for five years. Developers on the site will not be in a position to avail of tax advantages.
Under the planning rules that apply in the area, at least 30 per cent of the project must be dedicated to residential development. Office space will take up 60 per cent of the available space, with the remainder dedicated to retail, leisure and cultural activities.
The area's location next to IMMA is likely to have some bearing on its cultural element.Plans will include a large public square and extensive garden space. The planned apartments will be built mostly in small, low-rise blocks but will include one tower block of about 18 storeys, if approved.
