Manor Park Homebuilders is about to submit a 10-year planning application to Dublin City Council for the highest buildings in Ireland as part of a massive commercial, residential and leisure Digital Hub development being dubbed "mini Manhattan".
In November, Manor Park Homebuilders bought the 2.5-acre site in Dublin 8 by tender from the State. Another developer, P Elliott & Co, acquired a further 3.1 acres. Both sites sold for €118 million but the State accepted part-payment in the form of office buildings, reducing the cash payment to €72 million.
The 81,179sq m (873,803sq ft) development will front Thomas Street West, Crane Street and Rainsfort Street, and will include 38,398sq m (413,312sq ft) of offices, a 360-bed hotel with 85 apart-hotel units overhead, 6,038sq m (64,992sq ft) of retail and café/restaurant space, a bar, public areas, 125 apartments and an educational resource centre.
The focal point of the development - two slender glazed towers - will be taller than the Spire on O'Connell Street and one of them, at 171 metres (564ft), will be three times the height of Liberty Hall. Designed by de Blacam and Meagher, the tallest tower at 49 storeys is topped by a helipad. The second tower is 124 metres (409ft) - three metres taller than the Spire - and is to have 32 storeys of offices.
The development will include eight three to 11-storey office and residential and retail blocks, which will involve the demolition of a number of buildings on Thomas Street West, including McGruder's pub, vacant shops, and a derelict warehouse.
The seven tallest blocks, which stand on a four-storey podium, are a mix of residential, offices and hotel and rise from 11 to 32 storeys in height.
The podium areas will have a creche, educational resource centre and public walkways. Permission is sought to change the use of VAT house No 7, a former Guinness facility, to office and bar use.
