Johnny Ronan's property company hopes to begin construction on its €200 million office development in Ballsbridge by January 2017 at the latest after securing planning permission from Dublin City Council.
Mr Ronan is also set to begin work on securing construction funding for the six-storey office block at AIB's Bankcentre campus, which is expected to accommodate at least 2,200 workers.
The project's backers currently include Cardinal Capital Group, which is backed by Wilbur Ross, and US-based Jefferies LoanCore. It is understood that Mr Ronan might look at a forward sale of the development as happened with the Vertium building he helped to develop at nearly Burlington Road.
Dublin City Council gave the project the go-ahead in spite of more than 20 objections, including from An Taisce, the heritage watchdog.
Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE) wants to start building in in September. However, in the event of an appeal, this deadline would be pushed back to January, providing the development received a green light from An Bord Pleanála.
Commenting on the possibility of an appeal, Shane Whelan, development director with RGRE, said: "We are going to engage with people who submitted observations but we are confident that the quality of the architecture and the design is sympathetic to the surrounding site and the campus that is Bankcentre."
The council has made permission conditional on RGRE Ballsbridge Development Ltd paying €2.9 million in development contributions.
At 52,247 sq metres, the development will be more than five times the gross floor area of the existing four blocks, which will be demolished.
The council’s planner concluded that the scheme complies with the city development plan and was unlikely to have a significant negative impact on the amenities of residential properties in the area.
AIB made observations on a number of grounds, including traffic safety implications, impact on the public realm, flood risk implications, and construction management.
“We have been working closely with AIB and would be hopeful that it won’t be objecting to the scheme,” Mr Whelan said.
The Ronan group hopes to have the offices ready for tenants to move in around January 2019. It will seek to pre-let the buildings, with Knight Frank engaged as agents for the scheme.
