Plans for a nine-storey student accommodation block at the former Independent Newspapers headquarters in Dublin city centre will be lodged by British developer Summix in the coming days.
In the published statutory planning notice, Summix IHD Developments Ltd says it intends lodging a Large Scale Residential Development application with Dublin City Council to develop a 316 student bed-space scheme in Middle Abbey Street.
The notice states that 272 standard and accessible rooms will be provided in 42 clusters ranging from five-bed spaces to nine-bed spaces at 87 to 93 Middle Abbey Street, known collectively as Independent House.
The intention is to use the student spaces as short-term lets during student holiday periods.
The scheme will involve the construction of a part nine storey over basement building connected to retained protected structures on the site.
Asked to comment on the application, Summix’s Irish adviser, Steve Cassidy, said on Friday that the student housing scheme would “include the preservation and reuse of the two striking buildings on Abbey Street”.
He said: “The original printing hall to the rear is also to be preserved and used for cultural and community uses.”
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The rear part of the site, which stretches to Princes Street at the GPO arcade, will be redeveloped to provide the student bedrooms “with the ground floor on Abbey Street and Princes Street also providing retail accommodation”.
He said the proposal also involves the widening and upgrading of Williams Lane, linking Abbey Street and Princes Street.
“Summix are very excited about this prime city centre project,” Mr Cassidy said. “When completed, the development will preserve the protected Independent House and Emerald Chambers buildings and the original printing hall and will also add badly needed accommodation to the significantly undersupplied student housing market in central Dublin.
“The addition of retail accommodation along with the students themselves will contribute to the vibrancy of this key city centre area.”
On a timeline for the project, Mr Cassidy said: “Assuming planning is granted later this year or early next year, it is expected that construction will commence immediately with the building likely to open in 2028.”
The planning application comes almost a year after Summix Capital purchased Independent House from Penney’s owner, Primark, in a deal understood to be worth about €9 million.
The building closed in the early 2000s and has been vacant for more than two decades.
