Treasury Holdings has emerged as favourite to develop an office block of up to 250,000 sq ft on a site fronting the River Liffey opposite the International Financial Services Centre.
Dublin Docklands Development Authority is studying a number of tenders for the one-acre site, which is expected to sell for in excess of £20 million (€25.39m). The applications are to be judged as much on the quality of the architecture as the price offered.
Gerry Kelly of the DDDA said it was currently evaluating the various proposals for the land on Sir John Rogerson's Quay, is next to where the US computer company, Novell, is due begin construction of a new headquarters later this year. Novell had been expected to move faster on its development at the former gasworks where decontamination procedures, due to be completed next September, are being closely monitored to ensure that there will be no airborne pollution.
The site targeted by Treasury will complete the river frontage on DDDA land, which will eventually have over one million sq ft of offices and 1,300 apartments. Treasury had also been in contention for the Novell site after agreeing to lease the proposed building to Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC). However, Treasury is thought to have opted for a different partner on this occasion, even though PwC is still looking for a new headquarters in central Dublin. Treasury has had bitter clashes in the past with the DDDA over its opposition to the massive Spencer Docks office scheme. The successful submission for the gas site will automatically have planning permission because of the planning powers vested in the DDDA. Those chasing the site have had the option of going for a single building of up to six storeys or for two or three connected blocks. Applicants have had to identify occupiers for up to two-thirds of the space.
The docklands authority plans to roll out proposals for the 24-acre gasworks site over the coming months and to have a good proportion of the sites committed by the end of the year. The DDDA is expected to develop most or all of the homes on a joint venture basis with private developers once an architectural model has been agreed.
