Neville Isdell, the former Coca-Cola chief executive who owns the CHQ building in Dublin, says work will soon begin on transforming the underground vaults of the centre into the proposed €12 million Epic Ireland diaspora-themed visitor attraction.
Mr Isdell, who retired as Coke chief executive in 2008, was in Dublin yesterday to oversee plans for Epic Ireland. He was also in the city took part in the official opening of Dogpatch Labs, which provides office space for start-ups and has relocated to CHQ.
Mr Isdell, who has assembled an advisory group to oversee the Epic Ireland project, that includes former education minister Ruairí Quinn, said Epic Ireland must operate on a “commercially sustainable” basis.
It is targeting 400,000 visitors a year, which would make it the sixth most popular paid tourist attraction in Ireland.
In a video interview with The Irish Times, Mr Isdell revealed several details of the plan, such as installation of a genealogy exhibition sited close to the river end of CHQ and interactive multimedia exhibits.
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