ANNUAL REPORT: The Dublin Docklands Development Authority invested €27 million in development and infrastructure projects during 2001, according to its annual report, published yesterday.
The authority had income of €12.5 million from disposals of development assets, generating a surplus of €3.3 million.
The authority's first executive board and 26-member council comes to the end of its five-year term at the end of the month. The council and board are appointed by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey.
The board and council chairman, Mr Lar Bradshaw, when asked if he would like to be reappointed, said it had been an "absolute pleasure to serve over the past five years", that the docklands project was unique in Europe, and that he thought the new board and council would need both continuity and change. "That's all I want to say on that."
The authority held a press conference to present its report in the Stack A building, a 150-year warehouse undergoing a €40 million redevelopment, which will include shops, cafes and an as yet undecided cultural centre.
"Stack A is going to be a must-do place for international tourists," said the authority's chief executive, Mr Peter Coyne.
The 150,000 square foot building, which also has extensive vaulted cellars, is due to open in October 2003. Its development will mark the end of phase one of the IFSC project.
Mr Bradshaw said that looking back at the past five years, it could be said the physical foundation had been laid for the development of much of the authority's area; that the intellection foundation had been put in place, through the structure of the council and the authority; and that the emotional foundation had been put in place, through replacement of the alienation and anger that had existed in local communities by feelings of trust and confidence.
Mr Bradshaw said the authority was "pretty bullish about the overall state of the economy and the property market. We'd be pretty bullish about down here, pretty confident".
The health of the IFSC was reflected in the fact that the major office development on Georges Quay had been let predominantly to IFSC companies. Employment in the IFSC now stands at 15,000.
Mr Coyne said Novell had withdrawn from its plans to build an office building on the Sir John Rogerson's Quay site but the authority was not worried that finding a replacement would be difficult.
The authority remains hopeful that a major conference centre can be built in Spencer Dock and is awaiting the outcome of discussions between developers Treasury Holdings, and the Government.
The National College of Ireland will open its new headquarters in the docklands this September. Mr Bradshaw said that during 2001 new social housing units had been completed; the number of people who undertook third-level scholarships reached 62; apprenticeships reach 43; and the number of parents in education rose to 120. The authority supports all these developments as part of its social regeneration responsibilities.
