NCH to acquire UCD site for €42m

The UCD site at Earlsfort Terrace will be bought this year to allow for the development of the National Concert Hall, at a total cost of €58.9 million.

A figure of €42 million has been agreed to acquire the UCD property adjacent to the NCH, and will be paid by the Department of Arts.

The department had set aside €20 million from the 2006 Budget towards the cost of acquisition, but the process has been accelerated and the funding revised. It now plans to complete the transaction this year.

A further €16.9 million will be paid by the Department of Education, for "relocation costs" of the UCD departments, which include post-graduate nursing, engineering, medicine and folklore.

It is not clear exactly what is covered by these relocation costs.

Minister for Arts John O'Donoghue announced yesterday that the Government had formally "designated the Earlsfort Terrace site as the location of the new National Concert Hall", and had "conveyed approval to finalise the purchase of the site from the UCD authorities as soon as possible".

The NCH's space is limited in its current setting on Earlsfort Terrace, where seat occupancy is often over 80 per cent.

The current auditorium is almost surrounded by parts of UCD faculties, and the redevelopment plans envisage using the entire historic site to provide a state-of-the-art concert hall.

The plans are for a 2,000-seat auditorium, a smaller hall seating 500, the retention of the existing auditorium, new cafe and restaurants, and forging a link with the adjacent Iveagh Gardens, the almost "secret park" within the city.

Making the announcement, Mr O'Donoghue added that "The provision of a signature concert hall on a par with the leading halls in capital cities across Europe will enable the National Concert Hall to meet current and expanding market demand for musical entertainment and cultural events.

"This development will support the renewed focus by the tourism agencies on cultural tourism."

The development of the NCH is to proceed on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis if the Ministers for Arts and Finance are satisfied with an evaluation of the economic benefits of the

project.

The PPP option has not yet been proven to work in a cultural context, so the evaluation report will be important.

NCH chairman Dr Dermot Egan yesterday warmly welcomed the designation of the site.

"It is a historic decision in this special year, the 25th anniversary of the founding of the National Concert Hall. At last the way is open for us all to work together to realise the vision of a world-class performance centre at Earlsfort Terrace."