NOVELL DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Sinead Geraghty, eircom live newsletter

Eircom and the Office of Public Works have announced the submission of a planning application for Westgate, a new Western gateway development to Dublin City at St. John's Road, near Heuston Station.

The completed development, including mixed residential, office and amenity development will be worth in the region of €500million. The 9.5-acre site is jointly owned by eircom and the OPW.

Commenting on the announcement Eircom CEO Phil Nolan said: "We are very pleased to be working jointly with the OPW on the development of Westgate. We are equally committed to the Minister, Government and Dublin City Council's plans for the rejuvenation of inner city Dublin.

"This site, which has been occupied by Eircom and the OPW for many years, has the potential to become a flagship development and a vibrant living and working quarter for thousands of Irish people".

"You might be asking yourself, what has Eircom, the country's leading telecoms company got to do with property? Well, we actually have quite an extensive property portfolio. It's no secret either, that over the past number of years we have been rationalising this portfolio. In most cases, this has taken the form of straight sales or disposals. However, clearly this site is unique and has significant value potential; therefore, we have taken the decision to become involved in the actual development process for this site."

Head of shared services, Felix McKenna, said "In broad terms, there will be about half a million square feet of state-of-the-art office space on the site, with in excess of three hundred apartments and then the balance in cultural and retail uses. The site is a key site in terms of the redevelopment of the West end of the city, given its proximity to Heuston Station and given the other large brown field sites, such as Guinness and Iarnrod Eireann in that area.



"It's a substantial urban regeneration project, on the scale of the early phases of the IFSC. The reason we have taken a joint initiative with the OPW is that ourselves and the OPW have jointly occupied the site since the formation of the state and given the potential of the site and its complexity, there is no way that we could have just drawn a line through it and each gone off and done our own thing.

"It wouldn't have achieved the optimum development of the site and wouldn't have been acceptable to the city planners. So the only practical and feasible way to develop a site of that complexity was to do it jointly and it is a unique opportunity for both ourselves and the OPW to do something very significant at the Western entrance to the city. While it's not core business, it is the most significant site within the Eircom portfolio and the only way that one could be sure of achieving the maximum value of the site is to put in place an appropriate planning consent which would govern the development of the entire site.

"Having achieved that planning permission, it will be open to us to do a number of things and it remains to be seen how we will progress the development. But again, given the scale of the opportunity, I think there's a lot of merit in Eircom reserving its position at this stage and seeking in the post-planning to maximise the opportunity for the company and the shareholders," added Felix.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Tom Parlon, said "Westgate is a flagship urban regeneration project for the State. It will transform this derelict warehouse space into a vibrant quarter containing state-of-the-art office space, high quality living accommodation and a mix of cultural and leisure spaces to support a sustainable lifestyle in this under-developed part of Dublin".

"It will act as a perfect balance to the Dublin Docklands Development Authority and IFSC development at the eastern end of the River Liffey and will revitalise city living in the Heuston, Kilmainham are", added the Minister of State.