Dublin City Council has granted planning permission for the €100 million redevelopment of the landmark and 'outdated' St Stephen’s Green shopping centre.
The capital will lose one of its landmark buildings after the Council has granted planning permission to DTDL Ltd controlled by a fund operated by stockbroker and wealth manager, Davy for the ‘rejuvenation’ of the centre.
The Council has granted planning permission after the applicants reduced the scale and massing of the scheme.
The St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre was first opened in 1988 and Davy has secured the green light for its redevelopment after paying a reported €175 million for the centre on behalf of its clients in 2019.
In recommending a grant of permission, a 51-page Council planner’s report concluded that "the proposed reductions to the scale and massing of the building significantly reduces the visual impact on this sensitive environment”.
The revisions included an increased setback at sixth floor level and the planners state that the setback reduces the appearance of the scheme by one storey and the overall scheme accords with the City Council’s height strategy.
The planners state that the scheme makes "enhanced use of this urban site to achieve a requisite level of intensity of development for sustainability".
Local landmark
The planner’s report acknowledged that the existing shopping centre is a local landmark, but this was not due to the quality of its architecture and stated that the shopping centre is not a Protected Structure.
The developers are proposing a cinema and gallery space and the Council planner’s report state that these cultural uses are welcome and will further generate activity.
The original scheme lodged last December comprised a total gross floor area of 87,932sq metres and the overall net increase in gross floor area over the existing development is 21,419 sq. metres.
The largest component of the new scheme is office use, providing for 35,043 sq metres of offices and ancillary spaces and the applicants increased the level of retail and Food & Beverage space after the Council expressed concerns.
As part of the 20 conditions attached to the permission, the Council has ordered the developers to pay €3.96 million in planning developer contributions and a further €1.27 million towards the LUAS C1 Line Scheme.
Attracting retailers
An architectural design statement drawn up by architects for the ambitious plan, BKD architects stated that since opening in 1988, the St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre has faced many difficulties in attracting sustainable retailers.
The report stated that these include that most unit sizes are too small and the smaller shop units particularly those at the upper levels trade poorly and can operate only on short-term leases.
Now, as part of the plan, the scheme is to reconfigure the street level retail mall to allow for larger and enhanced quality shops with a partial retail level at first floor and commercial office use on the upper floors.
The applicants are also proposing to introduce a new café/restaurant/bar zone linking the mall to the street.
Planning consultants for the scheme, John Spain & Associates told the Council that the existing building "has become outdated" and the proposal seeks to enhance a high quality shopping centre and office facility on a centrally located site.
Mr Spain argues that the proposal represents a significant rejuvenation of a key site at the gateway to Dublin's south retail core.
The report states that the St Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre “is currently underperforming in its retail function and the proposal through the provision of medium-sized units, which are currently in demand by higher order retailers, has the potential to significantly improve the retail offering in the area.
In a submission, former Environment Editor at the Irish Times, Frank McDonald told the council: "what is now proposed is an over-scaled office development with retail and Food & Beverage uses on its two lower levels — including some space for art — along with a cinema in the basement and a restaurant on the fourth floor overlooking St Stephen’s Green."
Mr McDonald stated that the view from within St Stephen’s Green "would be radically changed, and I emphatically do not believe that this is a price worth paying".
