THE venue for the North's deliberative Forum may be the site of the old York Street Co Op in central Belfast, a place familiar to a generation of shoppers from the Republic before the outbreak of the Troubles.
The long established co op department store was a magnet for cross Border shoppers in the 1950s and 1960s, was extensively damaged by a bomb in 1972, and was reconstructed as a completely new building.
The co op closed in 1990 and was sold off in lots. Part of the site is now used by the University of Ulster for its arts college, and the rest is jointly owned by Short Brothers and the Flax Trust.
This latter section has been converted into modern offices, renamed Interpoint, and houses several conference rooms.
Although no final decision has been made about the Forum venue, according to the Northern Ireland Office, it was reported in Belfast at the weekend that the former coop building is now likely to be chosen as suitable.
According to the legislation under which it is being established, the Forum is "for the discussion of issues relevant to promoting dialogue and understanding within Northern Ireland".
With the old parliament building at Stormont undergoing major repairs and restoration following a fire, which seriously damaged the debating chamber, the initial belief was that the Forum might meet in Castle Buildings, a new complex built in the grounds of Stormont mainly with the all party talks in mind.
However, because the main conference room there is regarded as too small to accommodate the 110 members of the Forum, as well as staff, the option no longer seems suitable.