Planning permission is to be sought next week for another major development opposite Dublin's Heuston Station, including a residential tower that would be the tallest building in Ireland.
Combined with an adjoining mixed-use project planned by Eircom, the overall development would be one of the most significant urban renewal schemes planned for the inner city, with an aggregate value of €500 million.
It would include a total of 650 family-sized apartments, with a 20 per cent allocation for social and affordable housing, 52,000 square metres (560,000 sq ft) of offices and cultural facilities, including an interactive learning centre.
Heuston Gate, the scheme planned for a 4.5-acre State-owned site adjoining Dr Steevens's Hospital, would also provide a new public pedestrian route from Heuston Station to the Irish Museum of Modern Art at the Royal Hospital.
Mr Tom Parlon, Minister of State at the Office of Public Works, said the project would transform an underdeveloped part of Dublin into a "vibrant quarter" to counterpoint the Docklands area at the eastern end of the River Liffey.
With private sector partners being sought to develop it, he said: "This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of Dublin with a visionary development, while at the same time extracting maximum value from a State property."
Any deal would be based on the State's requirements and the realities of the property market but, regardless of its shape, he said the State "will receive a multiple of what it would receive if we sold this site without planning permission".
Heuston Gate and Eircom's Westgate developments have been designed in line with the objectives of Dublin City Council's regeneration strategy for the area, which envisages capitalising on its location beside one of city's main transport hubs.
Heuston is the terminus for commuter rail services on the Kildare line as well as being Iarnród Éireann's busiest mainline station. The Tallaght Luas line will also run close by, making the area and its facilities even more accessible. A study by London-based architects and urban planners DEGW also identified the area around Heuston Station as having the potential to accommodate taller blocks, even though it contains a significant number of major historic buildings. All of the protected structures on the OPW-owned site, fronting on Military Road, are to be retained in the proposed development. But their context would be transformed by new buildings, including a 32-storey residential tower.
Paul Keogh Architects, who designed the scheme, say this tower is intended as a landmark for the area at a location that is equidistant from Collins Barracks, the Royal Hospital, the Guinness Storehouse and the Wellington Monument.
Mr Paul Keogh, who headed the design team, denied it would dominate the skyline, distracting attention from the historic buildings. "It's a fulcrum or pin that holds them all together," he said, adding that contrasts of scale "are good in that context".
Given that protected structures on the site were being retained, he said the density would be unsustainable if the tower was not included.
It would also have a public observation gallery on top and a restaurant on three levels at its base.
He also drew attention to other public elements of the scheme, including a new plaza opposite Heuston Station and the pedestrian route from the station to the Royal Hospital, saying it would be roughly the same length as Grafton Street.
