Developer Joe O'Reilly of Castlethorn Developments has come back with a revised planning application to build a retail, restaurant and residential complex at the former Eircom Building at 35-45 King Street South in Dublin 2. Edel Morgan reports.

In June, An Bord Pleanála overturned a planning permission granted by Dublin City Council to Mr O'Reilly to demolish the former Eircom office building at 35-45 South King Street, Dublin 2 and replace it with a contemporary glazed seven-storey mixed-use complex.

An Bord Pleanála refused permission on the grounds that the replacement of the 1980s Eircom office building would constitute serious overdevelopment by reason of height, scale, extent and excessively high plot ratio on narrow South King Street, and would negatively impact on the existing scale and quality of the streetscape on South King Street.

This time around Mr O'Reilly is lowering his sights somewhat and seeking to build a five storey over basement scheme to replace the existing 6,763 sq m (72,796 sq ft) Eircom building.

The proposed mixed development is 8,055 sq m (86,703 sq ft) and would include five shop units, two of which would be at ground floor level, one would span ground and the first floor, and two would take up a ground, first and second floor level.

A department store complex would span the basement, first and second floors.An associated office suite would be at third floor level and there would be six apartments on the third and fourth floor.

Mr O'Reilly bought the existing five-storey office block for over €32 million and it is believed a retail scheme there would revitalise the fortunes of South King Street which has been pedestrianised for several years and flanks the St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre.

It is currently not generally regarded as a shopping street because it has only a handful of existing traders.

A new centre there would attract high profile retail names and overseas traders desperately looking to locate near Grafton Street.