The 19th-century warehouse on Dublin's docks known as Stack A is to be redeveloped next year as a retail, restaurant and cultural venue at a cost of £20 million.
Announcing the scheme yesterday, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said this final section of the IFSC site to undergo refurbishment was "one of the key aspects to bringing life and heart to the whole area"
Stack A's transformation will be funded and overseen by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority.
According to the authority's chairman, Mr Lar Bradshaw, "We want also to reinforce the value of the IFSC Docklands hub as a world-class business location" Work on the building is expected to take 20 months, with the building open to the public before Christmas 2003.
Full details of Stack A's new character will not become available until next spring. At present, the development authority is considering a variety of schemes for a museum to occupy about one-third of the total space; this institution may focus on children, science or the history of the capital.
Mr Ahern insisted he would not declare an interest here "because I'm already accused of being too Dublin-oriented anyway, so that gives you an idea which one I'd prefer".
Whatever its focus, the museum will be funded by a cultural levy on all IFSC tenants which is expected to generate about £750,000 annually.
The precise mixture of retailers and restaurateurs in the rest of the building has also not yet been determined. Mr Peter Coyne, chief executive of the DDDA, said: "The objective is to have a format that's buzzing and dynamic; whatever produces that best will be included".
A real estate agency in Dublin and a London-based boutique retail consultancy have been appointed by the DDDA and, Mr Coyne added, "We'll have no difficulty marketing the space; there's already strong interest from the retail and restaurant sector."
But, he observed, "we'll probably keep tweaking and evolving until the end of the whole process".
While still uncertain about the nature of activities inside, the docklands authority has already decided on changes to Stack A's external appearance.
The most visible of these will be the demolition of some five metres of the building closest to the Liffey and the erection of a new glass wall on this side, giving passers-by an unimpeded view of both the main hall and basement vaults. The main entrance to the building will be immediately adjacent to this glazed frontage.
Built of brick and granite, Stack A is one of the largest and most important examples of 19th-century industrial architecture in Ireland. The building was designed by John Rennie and constructed in 1820-21 as a tobacco store below which vaults were used for holding wine.
Extending to some 13,000 sq m over two floors, the structure's main hall is 260 feet long and 153 wide divided into aisles by three lines of iron pillars. In October 1856 the building was temporarily transformed for a banquet to honour more than 4,000 soldiers who had fought in the Crimean War.
During the past decade many potential uses have been proposed for Stack A. In 1996, for example, the financier Mr Dermot Desmond proposed that the site be incorporated into a glazed "ecosphere" filled with exotic plants and animals, but this scheme was turned down by the Government last year.