Dublin's first Olympic-sized swimming-pool and water-world are to form part of an £80 million leisure and entertainment complex to be developed off the M1 at Coolock Lane near Santry. It will be the largest integrated leisure facility of its kind in Ireland or the UK. A British company, Stannifer, is to lodge a planning application tomorrow for the Olympic Leisure Complex, a 456,000 sq ft development to be located on a 38-acre site owned by Dublin Corporation on Coolock Lane and Oscar Traynor Road.
In addition to the 50-metre swimming-pool and integrated water-world, the scheme will also include a 16-screen cinema complex, 96,000 sq ft of themed leisure retailing, a health and fitness centre, family entertainment centre, 208-bedroom hotel, restaurants and cafes, a night-club, two fast food outlets and a petrol station. There will be a surface car-park with over 1,700 spaces.
Dublin Corporation is likely to view the giant complex as a major coup for the city and a considerable boost to tourism and business in north Dublin. Over 1,000 people will be employed in the complex.
The 50-metre swimming-pool will not only be a major boost for the sport of swimming here, but will also serve as a venue for international events, including synchronised swimming and water polo. The swimming-pool and water-world will be a magnet drawing visitors from all over the country to the complex. The two water facilities will cost around £12 million to develop and are expected to incur annual losses, at least in the early years.
The main pool will have moveable bulkheads, raising floors and spectator seating along one side to cater for 700 people. The moveable bulkheads will allow the pool to be split into smaller sections, so various activities can take place at the same time. The leisure water facility will cater for family outings and day-trippers and will have a range of special features including a wave pool, slide ride, space bowl, sprays, jets and mini slides.
A few years ago, a smaller leisure and sporting facility planned for the same site by another UK company, Landshape, was widely promoted but never got off the ground. If the latest scheme goes ahead, it is understood that the corporation will receive a capital payment from Stannifer and will also take a share of the profits. Stannifer is being advised by estate agents Druker Fanning and Partners and Frank L Benson and Partners, planning and development consultants.
The overall concept for the scheme is based on similar developments by Stannifer in the United States. The company says it envisages that visits to the complex will be of longer than usual duration. Visitors arriving in the morning or early afternoon for a swim or a visit to the health and fitness centre would then stay for lunch and go on to see a film. In addition, they expected that visitors would stay in the hotel and use the other facilities before travelling into the city centre. "The scheme is about drawing people into Dublin. This is a national facility."
The design for the centre is based on an ancient lost world with clear links to a highly evolved, futuristic society, says Frank F Benson. "The architects are proposing a design where ancient old world monolithic structures form the focal points of interest and excitement within a backdrop of a futuristic space age environment. The objective in the design of the scheme has been to create a unique leisure experience in an environment which is vibrant and exciting."
The retail element will account for only 17 per cent of the total floor area. It is anticipated that this area will house new retailers not currently in the Irish market, who will specialise in selling sporting and leisure-related goods and services.
The four-storey hotel will be developed in two phases, with 152 bedrooms initially, and a further 56 at a later stage.
The developers are proposing the development of a new roundabout from Coolock Lane at the entrance to the site, and the upgrading of Coolock Lane to a dual-carriageway between the junction with the M1 and the new roundabout. It is also planned to have a linear park along the southern boundary of the site from the M1 to Castletimon Road.
