HKR architects has unveiled images of its design for the former building of The Irish Times which will involve restoring the D'Olier Street side to a shopping destination as was originally intended by the Wide Street Commissioners.
Last month Dublin City Council gave Cavan-based builder P Elliott planning permission to redevelop the former newspaper building into a 8,247sq m (90,707sq ft) residential, shopping and office development spanning D'Olier Street and Fleet Street.
D'Olier Street is one of the first wide streets planned by the Wide Street Commissioners and was built between 1800 and 1812. It retains more of the Wide Street Commissioners facades than any other street in the city. Numbers 8-10 and 13-16 will be converted into small commercial premises with cellar rooms and mezzanines under high ceilings.
It is understood that Dublin City Council has welcomed the plan to open retail and commercial units as it will help revitalise footfall along D'Olier Street.
Another commercial unit will occupy the ground floor space facing onto Fleet Street and it is hoped that the expansion of the Luas system will provide a link to the Temple Bar area.
On the D'Olier Street corner there will be four apartments and, following a restoration and refurbishment programme to bring the building back to its original splendour, the remaining 1,300sq m (14,000sq ft) of space on the upper part of the D'Olier Street complex will be retained as office space.
The 1950s Fleet Street building will be replaced by a striking glazed building that will provide 3,200sq m (34,444sq ft) of high end contemporary office space. It will expose the rear of the D'Olier Street buildings by way of a four-storey glass atrium accessible from Fleet Street.
