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SUBURB WILL GET 2,000 NEW JOBS
A TOP development firm is to create 2,000 construction jobs in ambitious regeneration plans for a once-deprived Dublin suburb. The €800 million project in Ballymun is the largest of its kind ever accepted by planners and includes shops, apartments and offices centred around the planned Metro line. However, developers have effectively opted to remove the Ballymun name from the shopping complex which will be called Spring Cross. The area, once famed for its run-down tower blocks, has been transformed in recent years with the development of new homes, Ireland's first Ikea store and plans for Metro North. Niall Kavanagh, head of the Spring Cross project at Treasury Holdings, said it would become the capital of north Dublin, "Together with the opening of Ikea, we see the future of Ballymun as a destination for shoppers," he insisted. "Not only shoppers from the Dublin region, but from all over Ireland which will also benefit the local community," he added. "It will create 2,000 construction jobs and, on completion, support 8,500 direct and indirect jobs. "We are confident that we can 'commence construction in 2010," said Mr Kavanagh. The entire development will cover 255,000 sq m with more than 20 per cent of the floor area dedicated to shops. There will also be 360 apartments, offices and substantial leisure amenities including cinemas, bowling alleys, a public library and restaurants. Giant Developing giant Treasury Holdings, also behind London's Battersea Power Station site, applied for permission on behalf of Real Estate Opportunities (REO). REO chairman Ray Homey said the Ballymun regeneration was their flagship project. "This important achievement demonstrates the quality of both REO's development portfolio and the ability of its management to create value," he said. "This project is a flagship in the company's Irish portfolio and we are confident we can commence construction in 2010." REO said it was in an advanced stages of negotiations with key anchor tenants. UP AND COMING: Artist's impression of how Spring Cross project In Ballymun, Co Dublin might look. |
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