Preliminary construction work is to begin on the site of a landmark tower, shopping development and leisure complex on a 12-acre site near the Point on Dublin's North Wall Quay.
This follows the granting of enabling works permission for the proposed scheme by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) on April 6th.
The €800 million scheme, to be known as the Point Village, will include a 20,000sq m shopping centre, 13,000sq m of office space, a 250-bed hotel with 20 apartments, a 12-screen multiplex cinema and a Samuel Beckett museum.
Its "signature building" is the "Watchtower", a 32-storey structure housing 500sq m of office space, luxury apartments and a rooftop bar and restaurant. The tower, facing the U2 Tower on Britain Quay on the opposite bank of the Liffey, would "form a dramatic marine gateway into the city", a spokesman for the developer, Point Village Ltd, said.
"What we are building here is a unique combination of entertainment and retail venues that dovetail with the planning of living and work spaces," said Harry Crosbie, the entrepreneur who owns the site.
Commuters and shoppers would be catered for with a proposed Docklands extension to the Tallaght Luas line, bringing trams from the city centre directly into the development, while the site would also be serviced by six quality bus corridors and the proposed Macken Street bridge across the Liffey.
A three-floor underground car-park would accommodate 1,200 vehicles, and the developers believe the Dublin Port Tunnel will take much of the heavy traffic out of the area.
"Development of the Point Village is an essential part of the Docklands master plan," said DDDA chief executive Paul Moloney.
The retail facilities will cater not only for the fast-increasing population in the Docklands but also for the suburbs of Clontarf and Fairview on the northside, and Sandymount and Ringsend to the south.
The granting of enabling works permission allows for work to begin on clearing the site, digging foundations and the putting in place of utilities such as electrical conduits and fresh water supplies.
"This work will continue for the next few months," said Mr Crosbie. "Meanwhile, full planning applications will be lodged for the development in sections, as the project is very large. We are estimating that construction of the entire Point Village will take three years but that the first phases would be complete in roughly 12 months."
The scheme's planning file is available for public viewing at the DDDA's office on Custom House Quay.