Irish Life has "serious concerns" relating to elements of the plans by the Conrad in Dublin for an eight-storey extension to the hotel.
The owners of the hotel on Dublin's Stephen's Green lodged plans with Dublin City Council in July to transform the hotel "into a world-class, five-star hotel".
Archer Hotel Capital, a specialist European hotel investment vehicle that bought the Conrad for €115 million in 2019, is seeking permission for an eight storey extension that will increase the number of hotel rooms at the Conrad by 88 to 280.
The “significant investment” also includes a two-level roof top terraced bar, a new facade for the hotel and a wellness centre.
The proposal also includes an additional floor on the existing hotel to bring the number of storeys to nine.
Irish Life, New Ireland Assurance and IBI Property Nominees Ltd are joint owners of St Stephen's Green House which is located to the immediate north of the Conrad hotel.
In a submission on behalf of the three joint owners, Sheehan Planning has told the council that they have “some serious reservations” concerning aspects of the scheme.
Sheehan Planning said that while their clients are generally supportive of the redevelopment, they do have serious concerns relating to certain aspects.
Light
The concerns relate to the potential loss of light to their property, the separation distance between the redeveloped Conrad scheme and their property and potential demolition/construction safety and structural impacts.
Sheehan Planning said that “adequate daylight is very important for our client and for their tenants and they are particularly concerned about the impacts and the potential need for artificial light during daylight hours”.
The development overall increases the Conrad’s gross floor area from 14,405 sq m to 20,486 sq m.
The lodging of the application follows confirmation that revenues plummeted by 80 per cent at the Conrad from €18.6 million to €3.67 million in 2020 due to the Covid-19 impact.
Architects for the scheme, BKD, have told the city council that the proposed development “will create a world class 5-star hotel”.
The architects said that the eighth floor terrace – which would be accessed by a ‘feature’ glass lift – would provide “a great viewing platform for the city and surroundings for tourists”.
