The Cosgrave Property Group is to begin development work shortly on the original office scheme approved for George's Quay, opposite the Custom House in Dublin, following the refusal of planning permission for a more adventurous cluster of glass towers.
The decision to revert to the original plan means Cosgrave can proceed immediately with the development, which will have a total of around 300,000 sq ft of office space.
The first five-storey block will be built along Moss Street. Seven other blocks ranging in height from eight to 11 storeys will be developed almost simultaneously behind the PricewaterhouseCoopers office block and the DART line.
The development does not require fresh planning approval. Minor changes to it are treated as submissions in compliance with the terms of the 1991 planning permission. The dark tinted glazing in particular is to be replaced by more transparent glazing, which attempts to capture some of the quality of the office and apartment scheme designed by international architects Skidmore Owings and Merrill and rejected by An Bord Pleanala.
The Cosgrave scheme now getting under way will be considerably lower than the large office scheme planned by CIE for an adjoining site which includes Tara Street DART Station. The State company is due to lodge a planning application this week for a mixed development of 16 levels over ground floor. The station is to be considerably enlarged, there will be almost 12,000 sq ft of retail space at ground and mezzanine level and 219,000 sq ft of offices.
The Cosgrave scheme, like the one proposed by CIE, is likely to link in to the DART station. Cosgrave will have around 200 car-parking spaces at basement level, while CIE will have 54.
Work on the Cosgrave scheme coincides with an immense shortage of new office space in the city centre. Rents for new buildings have been moving up steadily over the past two years and a new benchmark of £33 per sq ft was recently achieved for part of the Hardwicke complex, on Adelaide Road.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, which occupies an adjoining block fronting on to George's Quay, might well be interested in taking part of the Cosgrave scheme. The giant accountancy firm is looking for a building of 150,000 sq ft to replace its present accommodation of 45,000 sq ft.
