Dublin's old Carlton Cinema to be redeveloped

After sitting idle for decades, the site of the old Carlton Cinema on Dublin's O'Connell Street is finally going to be redeveloped. The company behind Dundrum Town Centre has named the architect it wants to develop a vision for that space that will be known as Dublin Central. Six acres - from Upper O'Connell Street to Parnell Street to Moore Street & Henry Street - are going to be turned into a high-end retail centre. ACME Architects have been told to protect the sites connections with the 1916 Rising, while promoting economic and employment opportunities.

Read the full article @ The Irish Examiner

Council to sell Moore Street sites

DUBLIN CITY Council has agreed to sell its properties on Moore Street to Chartered Land for €12 million, paving the way for the redevelopment of the former Carlton cinema site.

Chartered Land, the company behind the Dundrum shopping centre, has applied to the council for permission for a €1.2 billion development of apartments, shops and restaurants within a 5.5-acre block bounded by O'Connell Street, Parnell Street, Moore Street and Henry Street.

The site is centred on the former Carlton cinema and adjacent derelict site, which are owned by Chartered Land. However, the company, owned by Longford-born developer Joe O'Reilly, also requires council-owned properties to complete the scheme.

The lands are at 24 and 25 Moore Street and were formerly used for storage for the traders on Moore Street. The buildings are now vacant and the traders have been compensated for the loss. The compensation sum could not be disclosed for reasons of confidentiality, the council said.

The council has agreed to dispose of the just under 100sq m site for €12 million. However, the sale is contingent on Chartered Land being granted planning permission for the development.

The disposal cannot take place until it has been ratified by the city councillors. Councillors in the central area have already agreed to the proposal and it will go before the full city council next week. The council is likely to ratify the decision of the local councillors.

Despite having applied for planning permission for the development last April, Chartered Land is still waiting for a decision from the city council.

The council planners last June sought further information in relation to 14 aspects of the scheme including proposals for a sloping public park at roof level with panoramic views over the city. The developers have been asked to supply more details to address the "inherent design challenges" posed by the height of the public space and the need to ensure public access.

They have also been asked to address the concerns of the council's conservation officer in relation to the protected structures in and around the site. Chartered Land has until December to respond to the council.

The Irish Times

www.buckplanning.ie

Structural faults found on Dublin's O'Connell Bridge

Repair work will be carried out on O'Connell Bridge in Dublin by the end of the summer after the discovery of a large number of suspected stress cracks and a missing section of parapet which is believed to have broken away and plunged into the river.

Dublin City Council has confirmed that it is to undertake remedial works at the busy bridge over the coming weeks to replace the parts that have been damaged.

It is now feared that the rising level of the Liffey is causing the water to crash against the tops of the bridges on the Quays rather than simply passing underneath, thereby causing structural damage. The council has been urged to establish a major investigation.

A report commissioned last year by the city authority warned that rising tides in the river due to global warming could lead to further incidents of flooding in the capital. But according to the National Conservation and Heritage Group (NCHG), the rising water levels pose as much of a threat of bridge damage as they do of flooding.

The potential danger posed to the capital's bridges cannot be assessed without sending engineers to examine the foundations of the structures, the group claims.

In support of their claim, they say O'Connell Bridge has recently lost a large section of parapet on one side of the structure, a concrete pillar from one of the rails, and cite the emergence of a worrying amount of stress cracks.

While the damage may seem insignificant, the NCHG believes it is an indicator of a potentially more serious problem.

"It may be an exaggeration to say 'Dublin bridge is falling down' but it is certainly in need of attention," said the NCHG's Damien Cassidy. "The only way we will know if it's in danger of falling down is if you had a diver down there looking at the foundations."

A spokeswoman for the council said that a complete examination of O'Connell Bridge was carried out four years ago and it was found to be in perfect condition.

Sunday Tribune

www.buckplanning.ie

Dublin's 'Spire' monument to be repaired

The landmark Spire monument on O’Connell Street in Dublin will be cleaned, polished and repaired this weekend, with resulting traffic restrictions on the capital’s main thoroughfare.

Dublin City Council said it hoped to repair the lights at the top of the Spire, which have not been working in recent months after a problem developed with the rope and pulley mechanism on which the lights are mounted.

A special crane – the only one of its type in the country – will be used to access the top of the structure.

“Weather permitting, it is proposed to erect a crane in the median on Saturday 19th July, with the dual purpose of carrying out maintenance works on the rope and pulley and the lights,” the council said in a statement.

“It is also intended to use the opportunity of the crane being on site to give the structure a further clean even though one was not scheduled until next year.”

On Monday, the bottom two metres of the 120-metre high monument will be treated and repolished. The Spire has been vandalised with acid-based graffiti at a number of points, and this needs to be removed the council said.

There are also a number of deep scratches which will also be repaired.

Central area manager Charlie Lowe said: “There is a planned maintenance programme for the Spire and it was decided that, rather than hiring a 120-metre crane just to work on the lighting and rope and pulley maintenance, cleaning work would be conducted at the same time.

“This is scheduled to take place over the coming weekend, it’s a two-day job and it is subject to weather conditions being suitable.

“The crane is the highest and only one of its type in Ireland, so therefore, it cannot operate in high winds. If conditions are suitable the work will be done this Saturday and Sunday, or may need to be put off for another weekend,” Mr Lowe said.

Additional repolishing works will be done after the cleaning and maintenance work. Traffic restrictions will apply in the vicinity of O’Connell Street during the works.

The Spire, officially called the Monument of Light, was to be erected in time for the turn of the Millennium celebrations and the rejuvenation of O'Connell Street in Dublin in 2000, but was ultimately not erected until April 2003.

The cost of cleaning it was estimated in 2005 at about €50,000, with the cost of hiring the crane making up most of that sum.

Council engineer Michael Kelly told The Irish Times in 2005: "We have to make a call about how often we clean it, so we're going to have to live with a period when it's grubby. The chances are it will be once every five years."

Irishtimes.com

www.buckplanning.ie

After the tree protests, street wins major landscape award

WHEN Dublin city bosses started removing trees to allow a major refurbishment of the capital's main thoroughfare five years ago, such was the public outrage that some Green Party TDs chained themselves to the trunks to stop further carnage.

But yesterday it emerged that the council's decision was correct, after O'Connell Street's landscaping won a merit award for the "outstanding" tree planting at the annual Association of Landscape Contractors of Ireland.

The judges noted that 27 boxed lime trees bordered a new plaza while eight weeping birch trees gave a "sense of movement even in the gentlest breeze".

And it will be a long-lived legacy, as the trees will last 200 years. The outcry back in 2002 surrounded the council's decision to remove 100-year-old London Plane trees, in order to create a streetscape to rival Paris' Champs Elysee.

SAP Landscapes was the overall winner this year, for the roof garden at SAS Radisson in Dublin 8.

Paul Melia
Irish Independent

Dublin's GPO to close only to rise again as a smart shopping centre

THE GPO in O'Connell Street, Dublin, is to close - as a general post office.

The Government has grand plans to "open it up to a public" in a revamp costing €250m that will turn the inconic building and its huge interior courtyards into a mixed development of museums, restaurants, galleries, shops and performance areas for the arts.

The redevelopment of the site is linked to the celebration of the centenary of 1916 in nine years' time.

Secret discussions have been taking place over a long period between the Office of Public Works and architects and planners about making the GPO a "focal point" for huge development plans in the northern quarter of Dublin city.

"There are considerable architectural possibilities about what can be done with it," said the Minister in charge of the Office of Public Works, Noel Ahern TD, yesterday.

"There are enormous possibilities if we get the right mix of creative ideas," he said.

A think tank involving the ultra-trendy architects Foster & Partners of London, who designed the proposed expansion of U2's Clarence Hotel, has been involved in looking at the GPO complex and possibilities for opening it up from the surrounding streets such as Henry Street and Prince'sStreet.

With the post office counters removed there will be free access into the massive interior of the building.

"The think tank came at it from an architectural point of view; now it is a case of moving on and talking to the stakeholders" said the minister. He believes that work will have to start in the next year or two if the Government's plans are to be completed in time for the 2016 celebration.

Included in the plan is a glass cover for the vast courtyards, new archway entrances from adjoining streets and a multi-story interior which could even include an element of upmarket apartments, depending on a final agreement for the building and its courtyards.

Minister Ahern wants the building to retain the historic name of the GPO and to retain a post office "at some level", but this would only be one element of the development, which is at the early planning stages.

In the next couple of weeks meetings will be held with various interested bodies, including An Post, to discuss the plans.

The future of the GPO is now linked to the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Rising, which is seen as a "seminal moment" in the development of Irish independence and the modern state.

An integral part of the plan is for a "creative" museum which will celebrate the 100 years since Padraig Pearse, James Connolly and the Irish Volunteers occupied the building in 1916, beginning the final phase of the struggle for Irish independence.

The front facade of the building remains from the original GPO designed by Francis Johnston and erected in 1818. Much of the rest of it was destroyed by shelling in 1916. Ironically this facilitates the development of the courtyards and other buildings on the site, making development a much easier proposition because much of the fabric of the vast site was built after 1916.

Noel Ahern has already presided over a series of meetings of an informal group which has been charged with celebrating the centenary of 1916 and opening up the historic site for public use.

"We want people in there, we want a lively place so that people can walk in off O'Connell Street," said Minister Ahern.

He also believes that it should be more than "dawn to dusk" and that the GPO site will be a vibrant place for visitors well into the night, and that in conjunction with other developments in the area can turn O'Connell Street into a vibrant part of the city.

Last week Arnott's department store, which is controlled by barrister Richard Nesbitt, got the go-ahead for a €750m redevelopment of its huge land bank in Abbey Street, Henry Street and Prince's Street, which includes the former Independent Newspapers site.

The Arnott's site, the GPO site and the Carlton site, which extends back into Moore Street, will all become part of a 5.5-acre redevelopment of what has now been called the Northern Quarter.

The scheme, which has been been approved by Dublin City Council, will be 12 to 15 storeys high in places.

The Office of Public Works, which is to begin consultation with stakeholders in the GPO in the next couple of weeks, is determined that the old post office will become the focal point of this development. The best architects and planners will be involved in the design process.

At present, An Post uses the GPO building as a company headquarters - and although it is a famous meeting point in the centre of Dublin it is generally considered that its presence has 'deadened' the area rather than adding to the vigour and attractiveness of O'Connell Street and the surrounding area.

Sunday Independent

Dublin's GPO set for €250m revamp

The GPO in Dublin looks set to close for a revamp which would see it transformed into a mixed development made up of museums, restaurants, galleries and performance areas.

The overhaul will cost in the region of €250m, and could be built in time for the centenary of the 1916 rising.

A report in this morning's Sunday Independent claims that secret talks have been taking place between the Office of Public Works and architects and planners about the transformation.

A "creative" museum celebrating Padraig Pearse, James Connolly and the Irish volunteers is thought be an integral part of the development.

Also included are new archway entrances from the adjoining streets, a number of courtyards and a multi storey interior, which could house a number of upmarket apartments.

The building will still be called the GPO, and will retain some form of post office within the development.

Sunday Business Post

Spire cleaners get prime view of city

A TEAM of cleaners got a unique bird's eye view of the capital yesterday as work finally got under way to put the sparkle back on the Dublin Spire.

Armed with cloths and a special cleaning solution, the "grime-busters" mounted the soaring 400-foot landmark at daybreak yesterday from a massive 120-metre crane erected in the middle of O'Connell Street earlier at the weekend.

A City Council spokesman said the cleaning operation had been completed and was a success.

Lights

But he added that the German company which was doing the work, Hochtief Facility Management, may still decide to remove the lights which have not been working since the end of March.

He said it was hoped to have the lights back in place and operating by Thursday or Friday so the Spire can live up to its official title as the Monument of Light.

Yesterday's clean-up job is just part of the Spire's on-going maintenance programme which costs Dublin City Council more than €200,000 a year. Hochtief clean the first 12 metres of the structure every three months. But this marked the first time since its erection in 2003 that cleaners were able to tackle the job from the top.

Irish Independent

Wet spell delays Spire's makeover

A €120,000 POLISH of the Dublin Spire was postponed yesterday to ensure it would scrub up well today for its Bank Holiday weekend makeover, writes Anne-Marie Walsh.

When grime-busting officials arrived with containers of a special power-wash to give it a good shine, torrential downpours forced a change of plan.

A 600-ton, 120-meter crane erected for the occasion did not lie idle as the famous monument's lighting system also needed maintenance work.

But with forecasters predicting dry spells today, the operation to put the sparkle back in the €4.8m Dublin city centre landmark finally began this morning.

The top 100 metres of the stainless steel needle is likely to be covered in a layer of dirt from rain and smog as it has never been cleaned.

Dublin City Council promised that its plan to buff the Ian Richie Architects' 'Monument of Light' on O'Connell Street back to its former glory would continue with or without rain.

Meanwhile, a council official said that contrary to rumour, the column was not self-cleaning. He said German firm Hochtief Facility Management cleans the lowest 2.5m of the Spire every day to diminish the effect of people "putting their pawmarks" on its base.

Irish Independent

Tall order to clean up the 'stainless' Spire

A HIGH level cleaning operation has been planned for the dead of night on Dublin's main thoroughfare.

And the target of the €120,000 Bank Holiday Weekend grime-bust? The infamous €5m Spire which was originally believed to be "self-cleaning" at the time of its erection on O'Connell Street in 2003.

However, the central area manager with Dublin City Council, Charlie Lowe, said it was "illogical" to believe the stainless steel tourist attraction would clean itself.

"We don't believe any structure on earth is self-cleaning," he said. "Within months of it being erected it was obvious it wasn't self cleaning."

After nine months of intensive planning, the highest telescopic crane in Ireland will be erected late tonight for two days of polishing and lighting maintenance works.

Two men will be hoisted 120m to clean the column attraction with a power wash and special cleanser.

Louise Hogan
Irish Independent

Spire getting its spark back

Shine returns as the lights go on for first time since March
DUBLIN’S monument of light will shine again this weekend for the first time since March. The absence of lights on the 400-foot high Dublin Spire sitting in the centre of O’Connell street has concerned residents and tourists over the last two months.
A spokesperson for Dublin City Council said: ‘‘The lights went out in March but, instead of paying the huge amount of money to rent Ireland’s tallest crane, we decided to wait until the general maintenance which is taking place this weekend.
‘‘It’s not like changing a light bulb in your kitchen,’’ she said.
A 120-metre tall crane will be brought in on Saturday and Sunday and, depending on the weather, general maintenance and cleaning will be carried out, including the installation of a new aviation light and 2,000 white luxeon LEDs.
The spokesperson insists that there is no danger to air traffic when the lights are damaged or broken.
‘‘No commercial plane or otherwise flies over it. The only thing that will fly that low over the city centre is the garda helicopter and we have informed the gardai about that.’’
When asked if this light would continue to go out, the spokesperson said there was no way of knowing this.
‘‘If it happens again, we will wait until the next weekend of maintenance before the light will be replaced.’’
It is expected that the spire will cost upwards of €40,000 of taxpayers’ money to clean this weekend. The structure was touted as “self-cleaning” when first erected in 2003 at a cost of €4.8m.
However, the council conceded that its maintenance cost €205,000 last year and will increase to at least €218,000 this year.
German firm Hochtief Facility Management cleans the first 2.5 metres of the Spire at 7am every morning and the first 12 metres every three months.
Hochtief are also responsible for the maintenance and replacement of the lights on the structure.
This is not the first time the Spire lost its spark.
Back in 2003 an aviation warning went out again after the light went out on top. That time the light was replaced in a few hours.
The decorative LEDs, that are supposed to last for ten years have posed numerous problems for those maintaining the monument as well.
The “monument of light”, was designed by Ian Ritchie architects and won numerous design awards.
Cathal McMahon
© Irish Independent

Clery's goes big on cosmetics in €2m store-front makeover

TRADITIONAL Dublin flagship department store Clery's is going to present a new face to city shoppers - and it will be using a lot of cosmetics.

A €2m renovation of the store will completely redevelop the facade on O'Connell Street to include a frontage like BT on Grafton Street, offering views straight into a dramatically enlarged cosmetics hall.

When the new-look store is unveiled next month, its cosmetics department will have doubled in size and will offer innovative treatments including foundation applications by airbrush.

The new renovation was partly prompted by a major rise of 25pc in the footfall on O'Connell Street since the city's main street was refurbished.

It follows a recently completed €22m refurbishment programme of the store that took six years to finish.

The introduction of new brands like Karen Millen attracted younger faces to the shop that had been long associated with middle aged and elderly shoppers.

The 7,000 square foot cosmetics hall will include new brands including Smashbox and Origins as well as a 'Mind Body and Soul' organics section. A new jewellery section will be at Sackville Place.

The company hopes to expand nationally and is currently eyeing potential sites, following the opening of a 9,000 square foot home furnishing store in Naas last October.

General Manager Liza Jones (31) said backdrops at three of the seven large windows on O'Connell Street will be removed, while four will continue to have displays. "Cosmetics is a key department for us," she said.

Liza said the project is due to end in mid-June and is being carefully undertaken to keep in mind the heritage of the store.

The listed building was one of the world's first purpose built department stores when it opened in 1853.

Anne-Marie Walsh
Irish Independent