Hopes that new quarter will mix social, cultural facilities

Dublin City Council's new cultural quarter will combine higher standards of new homes with social and cultural facilities including a new city festival, city manager John Fitzgerald said yesterday.

The cultural elements of the scheme, to be known as SoHo, will include a "creative corridor" along Thomas Street with National College of Art and Design studios and galleries as an integral element.

Moves are also under way to have the college's traditional annual fashion show become a focal point of an open-air community festival, to be known as the "Thomas Street is Happening Festival". It will be held for the first time from June 9th-18th and will coincide with NCAD's open week. Moves are also under way to involve other social, sporting and cultural organisations in the festival.

SoHo will also see a new urban civic space developed around Cornmarket with a real time digital display emphasising the connections of the area to technology centres such as the Digital Hub.

Mr Fitzgerald rejected suggestions that Dublin City Council should have adopted this approach when the present boom in apartment building began more than a decade ago. The council was "moving faster than anybody" on the type of issues being addressed by the SoHo project.

The SoHo visitor experience is to be complemented by amenities focused on older industries such as the Guinness Storehouse museum, with 700,000 visitors a year.

According to the council's senior planner, Kieran Rose, other existing attractions include Francis Street, Meath Street and the Iveagh markets, as well as the Vicar Street performance venue.

A new community centre with creche at School Lane has just been built on land donated by the city council, while a community centre has also been provided by the council at Donore Avenue.

There will also be new parks and open spaces and a mix of large and small homes allowing residents to "move up" without moving out of the area, according to consultant architect Gráinne Shaffrey of Shaffrey Associates.

A minimum of 2,000 social and affordable new homes will be built as part of 10,000 private new homes while the regeneration of Fatima Mansions and St Teresa's Gardens will bring further community facilities to the area.

Property developer Mark Elliott, who is the council's partner on the redevelopment of Fatima Mansions and other projects at Usher's Quay, said larger units where residents could raise families, coupled with better community facilities, were a must "if we want apartments to be successful for sustainable communities".

According to Mr Rose, "nearly every single large site in the area is under construction or in the planning stage.

"In the next few years, the southwest inner city will be transformed, making it potentially one of the most exciting parts of the city."

Lord Mayor of Dublin councillor Catherine Byrne yesterday paid tribute to Mr Fitzgerald for his approach to community regeneration in the city.

Mr Fitzgerald, who leaves his post as Dublin City Manager this summer, declined to say what were his future employment plans.