The firm, which is headed up by developer David Kennan and Winthrop engineering group founder Barry English, has lodged plans with Dublin City Council for a 14-storey structure at the site.
Seven months ago An Bord Pleanála refused permission to Ventaway to develop a 24-storey block at the site, in what would have been Dublin’s tallest building. The appeals board was upholding a decision made in October 2022 by Dublin City Council and overruled a recommendation by its own inspector for it to be granted.
The board said that the scale, bulk and height of the scheme would “seriously detract from the setting and character of the Custom House and environs” and would “stand apart as an overly assertive solo building”.
In a planning report lodged with the new application, planning consultant John Spain Associates state that the May 2024 refusal is currently the subject of a legal challenge.
The new proposal, designed by architects Henry J Lyons, is for a block that would be 61.05m tall, which represents a 46.95m height reduction on the 108m-high scheme refused last May.
Despite the sharp decrease in height, the new, wider building would provide additional office space – 23,501sqm compared with 22,587sqm in the refused scheme.
The new proposal incorporates 910sqm in arts and cultural space, and the report states that these “will provide a valuable new facility for the city”.
The consultants also say the “current alternative endeavours to reflect the views of the planning authority”.
They say the height of the new scheme “has been designed to align with the specific objective for a locally higher building on the site”.
They contend that “the reduced height may be more readily absorbed into the visual landscape”.
The planning consultancy also claims that the new proposal will allow the development potential of the site to be maximised within the George’s Quay area, while improving visual impact and amenity through responsive architectural design, provision of public cultural space and mitigation measures to reduce the impact upon City Quay National School and the nearby Immaculate Heart of Mary Church.
A 10-year permission is sought, due to what the developers say are the complexities around the delivery of a locally higher building, and current supply issues in the construction industry.
