HOMES, SHOPS, CAFÉS and workspaces all feature in a proposal to regenerate O’Connell Street and Moore Street in Dublin’s north inner city.

The Dublin Central “masterplan” also includes a fully integrated Metrolink station for O’Connell Street.

Parts of the 5.5-acre site – which runs west from O’Connell Street to Moore Street, and north of Henry Street to Parnell Street – have been vacant for decades.

UK property developer Hammerson today submitted three, out of six, planning applications for the proposed mixed-use development were submitted today to Dublin City Council, with more to follow in the coming months.

The plan includes two new public squares, new pedestrian routes and the restoration of “historically important laneways”.

If planning permission is granted, construction is expected to begin in 2023 and be completed by 2030.

Two years ago Hammerson decided to scrap a previous plan for a €1.25 billion shopping complex on the site.

In a statement, Hammerson said the new proposal will ensure that the area around numbers 14–17 Moore Street, a national monument due to its role in the Easter Rising, is “appropriately restored as part of this landmark destination”.

The plan includes two new public squares Hammerson Hammerson

The wider Dublin Central area, with almost 200 metres of continuous frontage on O’Connell Street Upper is bounded by Parnell Street to the north, Moore Street to the west and Henry Street to the south and includes proposals for:

• 94 new homes with high-quality resident amenities
• 8,000 sq-m of restaurants, cafés and shops
• 44,000 sq-m of workspace
• Up to 210 hotel rooms
• A new public gallery

Moore Street

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has welcomed the plan, saying it will “enhance the status of O’Connell Street”.

“The locations around Moore Street and the GPO will see an increasing number of visitors who will be drawn to the seminal role it played in our history,” he said in a statement.

Martin noted that the government has already allocated “significant funding” to complete the conservation of the State-owned buildings at numbers 14-17 Moore Street and to create new visitor and exhibition facilities.

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An advisory group on the future of Moore Street last month recommended that a once-off compensation payment should be made to the last remaining traders on the street who would not be able to operate their stalls once development starts.

Martin said, as the plans develop, “it is important to continue to liaise with the street traders and those concerned with heritage conservation”.

Ed Dobbs, Development Manager at Hammerson, said the proposal would “regenerate this important part of Dublin”.

“Our priority has been to preserve and celebrate the site’s heritage whilst bringing forward an appropriate proposal that seeks to enhance its history and tell its story.”

Hammerson said the development, if it gets the green light, would result in 8,600 direct and indirect job opportunities (on-site, locally and supply chain), support 50 skilled apprenticeships, provide 366 full-time retail employees upon launch, and generate €8 million in business rates every year.