A high-rise complex proposed for Georges Quay, Dublin, would create 3,000 jobs when completed, the final day of a planning appeal hearing has been told.
Mr Bernard McHugh for the developer, Cosgrave Property Group, said that if the scheme of offices, shops and 166 apartments did not go ahead, there would be fewer jobs.
Mr McHugh was speaking on the fourth and final day of An Bord Pleanala's hearing of eight appeals against Dublin Corporation's decision to grant planning permission for the development.
The three-tower complex, designed by the New York architects Skidmore Owings Merrill (SOM), is to be built beside Tara Street station, opposite the Custom House. Its highest block will be 73.7 metres, almost 14 metres higher than Liberty Hall.
The board granted permission in 1991 for a nine-tower development, but only a part of this scheme has been built. The planning permission for that proposed development, which has a much darker facade than the current glazed proposal, is valid until 2001.
Responding to questions from residents' groups objecting to the development, Mr McHugh said he did not believe the apartments would attract a transient community as there was a good range of quality one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. He said the spirit of the 166 apartment scheme was "outward-looking towards the community" and would encourage public use and enjoyment of the site, whereas the previous scheme was "more of a fortress".
Mr Colm Mac Eochaidh, a barrister representing residents, said the scheme had "invisible and impenetrable gates" which would act as social barriers to exclude local people from accessing its amenities.
He said residents in Moss Street, which runs along one side of the site, would be looking at a stone wall around the development's car-park.
In response Mr Roger Duffy, a design partner from SOM, said he thought the wall was "quite beautiful and refined" and drew an analogy to the great wall around Jerusalem.
In closing statements, several objectors said the board should not view its planning decision as a choice between the current proposal and the 1991 development, which was described as the "portals of darkness" by a Green Party councillor, Mr Ciaran Cuffe.
Ms Mary Bryan from the Irish Georgian Society said the scheme was premature, as a study by the corporation to identify areas suitable for high buildings would not be ready for about a year. She said Trinity College and the Custom House would be dwarfed and would lose their historic context for ever.
Mr Michael Smith, of An Taisce, said the environmental impact study was inadequate and did not comply with an EU directive which takes precedence over domestic law.
He said An Taisce was not "anti high-rise" but "anti-fad" and objected to a building of such height and bulk being proposed so close to Dublin's historic core.
A representative of Dublin Docklands Development Authority said the development failed to meet the guiding principles of its master plan for the docks area.
Mr McHugh, in his closing statements, said the development's design and location would make it a focal point for the public in the neighbourhood.
"Dublin is a world city and should strive for greatness. We are entitled to it. Let us dare to move forward and seize this moment. I believe this landmark development, because of its context and quality, will be timeless," he said. The board is due to make its decision on the appeal by the end of September.