Planning permission has been granted by An Bord Pleanala for a £120 million development on the west side of Smith field in Dublin - but subject to the omission of a proposed 23storey apartment tower.
Fusano Properties Ltd, a consortium headed by developer Mr Paddy Kelly, had won a favourable decision from Dublin Corporation last August, but this was appealed by An Taisce and a number of local residents.
In its ruling, the appeals board said the tower - described by its architects as a contemporary version of an Italian campanile - should be omitted "to respect the visual prominence of the `former Jameson' distillery chimney" directly opposite the site.
The board also ruled that the overall height of the other buildings proposed in the mixed-use scheme should be reduced by one storey "in order to reduce the visual impact of the development" and to enhance the amenities of those who would live there.
Another condition requires Fusano to provide a continuous retail frontage along the west side of Smithfield and around the proposed Museum Square in the middle of the site "to add to the vitality of the area".
It also specified that the number of single-bedroom apartments in the scheme should not exceed 90 and the number of three-bedroom apartments should be not fewer than 50 "to provide for a more sustainable community in the area".
Having regard to the site's location and proximity to the Tallaght Luas line, the number of on-site car-parking spaces is to be reduced to 480, with the 160 apartments allocated one space each and no provision for these to be sublet to office workers.
The board's decision permits Fusano to demolish No 35 Queen Street - a protected structure - subject to its archway being salvaged and the demolition of a three-storey block of apartments, built for retired soldiers in the early 1990s.
Mr Jerry Ryan, of architects Horan Keogan Ryan, said his clients were "very pleased with the result" because it would still allow them to build some 600,000 sq ft (55,741 sq m) of space on the two-acre site.
In a separate decision on an adjoining site at the North King Street end of Smithfield, An Bord Pleanala approved plans for another major scheme - again, conditional on the overall height being reduced by omitting one storey and a glass boat-like roof feature.
It considered that the height of this scheme, designed by Galway-based architects Simon J. Kelly and Partners for Kulling Properties, and its "discordant" roof feature would be out of context and would constitute over-development of the site.
Mr John O'Sullivan, planning officer of An Taisce, welcomed the "significant reduction in height" in both decisions as well as cuts in the office content and car parking.
