Carlton Site: curtain closes on saga

Carlton site on O'Connell Street
Photograph: The Irish Times

The long-running saga of the derelict Carlton site on the northwest of O'Connell Street has finally come to an end and plans are likely to be lodged with Dublin City Council by early February.

The site, adjacent to the former Carlton cinema, has been vacant since 1979, while the cinema closed in 1994. Following the failure of the site owners to develop the lands, the Dublin council decided to purchase them.

The Supreme Court earlier this year upheld the validity of the compulsory purchase order originally made by the council in 2001 and confirmed by An Bord Pleanála in 2003.

Chartered Land, the company owned by Dundrum shopping centre developer Joe O'Reilly, is co-ordinating the overall plans which are being handled by three architectural firms, BKD, McGarry Ní Eanaigh and Donnelly Turpin.

The €500 million development will include a new public square on the site of the disused cinema to link Upper O'Connell Street with Moore Street.

The scheme is also expected to include about 6,503sq m (700,000sq ft) of retail premises with a heavy emphasis on restaurants, bars and other leisure facilities.

Planning permission will also be sought for a 150-bedroom hotel and apartments.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times