The Guinness Hopstore and surrounding buildings on the company's 60-acre St James's Gate brewery site have been bought by the Government for £15 million.
The area will be home to a multi-media village - called the Digital Hub - which will include the campus of Media Lab Europe, the joint venture between the Government and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The decision to base the high-profile project in the south inner city could spark a local property boom as the Government will acquire further property in the Liberties, Coombe and Thomas Street areas as they become a focus for Internet and information technology companies. The deal will also fuel speculation that Guinness plans to pull out of Dublin after 240 years.
A spokesman for Guinness, which is reviewing its Irish brewing operations, said the properties were surplus and the company was committed to Dublin.
The Hopstore was an interpretative centre for the brewery until last year when the new Storehouse centre opened.
The other property being bought by the Government is an adjoining vat house which has been unused for decades.
The Government has established a company, Digital Media District Ltd, to oversee the project under Mr Paddy Teahon, former secretary of the Department of the Taoiseach. He holds a similar post with the Campus Stadium Ireland, the company developing the national stadium. Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show that Mr Teahon gets £40,000 a year and a car for the two part-time jobs.
Executive services for both projects are provided by Ms Laura Magahy through her company Magahy and Co.
