Boland’s Mill set for extensive redevelopment
Boland’s Mill in the Dublin docklands is to get a complete redevelopment as offices and apartments.
Planning permission for the site will be lodged with Dublin City Council today by receivers Savills.
The site has been under Nama's control since 2012 and the agency will provide the €150m needed for the construction of three new buildings, which will run to 14 floors.
It will mean the demolition of existing buildings.
The joint receivers to the site, Mark Reynolds and Glenn Crann of Savills today submitted a planning application for the development of the site to Dublin City Council.
The application includes proposed office, residential, cultural and retail development, totalling almost 400,000 square feet.
Much of the development will be office accommodation but it will also include 42 two- and three-bedroom apartments, a cultural and exhibition space, in addition to retail and restaurant space.
The planning application envisages the creation of a new urban quarter with new streets and open spaces, including a large public square, opening on to Grand Canal Dock.
This is the first major planning application to be submitted since approval of the Docklands Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) Scheme in May 2014.
Mr Reynolds said that although they are historic, the bulidings in question were not involved in the 1916 Rising.
"Firstly on the 1916 comments, that's probably a common misconception," he said.
"The activity that took place in 1916 actually took place outside the Boland's bakery, where now stands the Treasury Building on Grand Canal Street.
"In terms of the protected buildings, we have five former mill buildings on the site, and there's been a lot of time and effort gone into thinking how we're going to sympathetically restore those buildings.
"The design has been driven by the principles of delivering an environment of high architectural quality and sustainable design, set out by what is a very comprehensive Planning Scheme by Dublin City Council.
"We have taken a careful conservation approach to the wealth of existing heritage buildings of character.
"In particular, care has been taken to actively integrate these buildings and their planned new uses into the new public realm and into new relationships with the proposed new buildings and the waterfront."
NAMA chief executive Brendan McDonagh said: "The development of the Boland’s Mill site of almost 400,000 square feet of commercial, residential, retail and cultural space, including 42 apartments, will be very positive not only in terms of bringing greater vibrancy to the South Docklands area but also in terms of addressing the shortage of quality office and residential accommodation in the Central Dublin Business District."
