Plans for a retail and residential development for Bray, Co Wicklow, similar in overall size to the new Dundrum town centre, are to be lodged with the local council this week.
The development, to be located on the 62-acre site of what used to be Bray Golf Club, will include more than 50,000sq m of retail space and 1,250 apartments.
It is thought that a number of large national and international supermarket chains have already expressed an interest in becoming anchor stores for the new development.
Later this week, the application will be lodged with Bray Town Council. With Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council thought to be earning more than €20 million per year in rates from the Dundrum development, this will be seen as an enormous revenue-generating opportunity for the town council.
The site of the proposed development is alongside the River Dargle on the Dublin side of the town, with potential for retail development. It would also be regarded as a desirable residential location, especially for commuters to the city via the nearby Dart rail link.
In an effort to make the site a more attractive location for residents, retailers and shoppers, the proposal will contain plans for a public park and several landscaped areas along the Dargle as well as a new bridge over the river to link the complex more easily with Bray railway station.
In a deal some years ago with businessman Eddie Dwyer, of housebuilders Dwyer Nolan Developments, Bray Golf Club exchanged the site of their nine-hole course in return for enough land for 18 holes near Bray Head between the town and Greystones to the south.
It is thought that Mr Dwyer also agreed to build the course and pay for a clubhouse on the site.
In total, he spent about five years assembling the site, organising rezoning, and in September 2003, he sold it for €90 million to the Pizarro consortium led by Dublin developer Paddy Kelly, one of those involved in the Smithfield market development.
Pizarro also includes such well-known businesses as Durkan New Homes, Alanis Ltd (controlled by the McCormack family), Bray property developers Newlan McSharry and construction company Pierse.
The project, if given the go-ahead by Bray Town Council, will be carried out over two phases, with a projected finish date of 2013.