The TCD Enterprise Centre on almost five acres is set to become a major city quarter in its own right, writes Jack Fagan

One of the last substantial sites in Dublin's south inner city looks set to be redeveloped as Trinity College prepares to embark on a joint venture with a private developer.

The TCD Enterprise Centre covers almost five of the six acres between Macken Street, Pearse Street, Grand Canal Quay and the Dart line, and when redeveloped is likely to have well in excess of 92,903sq m (1 million sq ft) of academic research buildings, offices, retail facilities and apartments.

Even before TCD has an opportunity to formally embark on the huge project, a half-acre site near the centre of the Enterprise Centre and fronting onto Grand Canal Harbour goes on the market today.

Campion Property Consultants is seeking what it calls "a reasonable offer" for the extensive warehouse but has indicated that the owners, the Jordan family who for years supplied crockery to the hotel industry, will also consider a joint venture with "an experienced and asset-rich partner".

An adjoining building owned by the Connaghton family is the only other property in the area not under the control of TCD. The businessman Denis O'Brien owns the Esat office block on the edge of the site fronting onto Grand Canal Quay.

All sides agree that the city planners will probably insist on an overall development plan for the site of almost six acres rather than allow individual owners to decide what they want to develop.

Whoever acquires the Jordan warehouse will have a right of way through much of the Enterprise Centre and so will probably have a voice in what happens to the remainder of the land.

TCD's director of buildings, Paul Mangan, said this week that the college was "exploring the possibility of developing the centre" to accommodate academic research and innovation activities within the terms of the 999-year lease of the Enterprise Centre from the IDA.

TCD's strategy will be to bring in a developer who will be allowed to retain part of the site for his own use once he has handed over newly completed academic buildings to the college. TCD plans to double the number of postgraduate students in the coming years. With Treasury Holdings already building a 16-storey apartment tower at the junction of Grand Canal Quay and Pearse Street, it is questionable whether the planners will also allow TCD to proceed with a tower block along the same corner of the Enterprise Centre. But the overall site is undoubtedly suitable for a number of high rise buildings, though the vast majority will probably be restricted to about eight storeys in line with other blocks in the area.

Because the Enterprise Centre is based in the docklands, a planning application can be made either to the Dublin Docklands Development Authority or Dublin City Council. However, Paul Mangan says the college has "a good track record and reputation" with the city council which handled the planning permission for a new building nearing completion on the Pearse Street end of the college campus. The Enterprise Centre is "the last piece of development owned by the college and, if we let it go, we have nowhere left for expansion", he says.

There are currently about 50 tenants renting accommodation in the Enterprise Centre, the vast majority of them on a week-to-week basis.

A study commissioned by TCD in 2001 and carried out by UK architects Ahrends Burton & Koralek recommended the building of a 20-storey office tower with a footprint of 6,000sq m (64,583sq ft) at the junction of Pearse Street and Macken Street. The firm said it would mark the principal point of entry to the Enterprise Centre and provide a visual link with the main college campus. Investigations showed that it would not be visible from key historical city areas.

The architects also recommended a generous daylight concourse which would connect the main entrance to other principal components of the scheme and provide a social hub to the Enterprise Centre. A line of buildings along Pearse Street varying in height from six to seven storeys was also suggested with shops and restaurants at street level. The architects also looked at the scope for a "matrix" of blocks along much of the central part of the site, a building of five to seven storeys beside the Esat block on Grand Canal Quay and a residential tower of about 15 storeys near the north-eastern corner.