Property developer Keith Craddock has been granted permission to knock down the Circle K filling station opposite the Donnybrook Stadium and to replace it with a seven-storey aparthotel.
A subsidiary of Red Rock Developments has been given permission to build a 143-bedroom aparthotel over a ground floor restaurant and café, in the latest plan to redevelop the site.
The site, located at the junction of Donnybrook Road and Brookvale Road, previously saw An Coimisiún Pleanála refuse planning permission for a 10-storey 225-bedspace student accommodation.
An assessment carried out by planning consultants, John Spain Associates, on behalf of the applicants noted the site is “currently underutilised” and that the addition of an aparthotel would create a “significant opportunity to provide much-needed tourist accommodation” in the area.
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The planners noted the location was close to “major sports venues” including the RDS and Aviva Stadium, as well as on the public transport corridor into Dublin city centre.
It noted a “critical undersupply” of tourist accommodation in the Donnybrook area.
Mr Spain said the proposed aparthotel has been “preleased” to Finland-based hospitality provider Bob W, which operates across Europe and was founded by Niko Karstikko and Sebastian Emberger.
The Donnybrook site will be the tech-powered hospitality brand’s first location in Ireland, adding to sites in cities including Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, London and others across Nordic and Baltic countries.
Local voices had raised concerns over density on the previously denied student housing build, with Donnybrook Lawn Tennis Club claiming it would “exceed the densities of Manhattan by some way”.
Locals had also submitted observations to the council in relation to the aparthotel plans.
Two residents, who lived some distance from the proposed development, claimed the development was a “Trojan Horse to allow for cheap, non-compliant bedsits”. They said the aparthotel would “bring chaos to Donnybrook” and would not be in keeping with the character of the area.
Representatives of the Anglesea Road, Ailesbury Drive and Ailesbury Grove residents association called for the development to be cut back to six storeys to be “much more congruent” with the surrounding area. The site of the proposed development is just metres away from the Eglington Place residential development which is 12 storeys high.
They suggested the site would be more suitable for student accommodation given its proximity to UCD
Kevin and John O’Sullivan, directors of the neighbouring United Tyre Company, wrote to the council noting the nature of the development - with windows facing onto their property - would constrain their site from future development.
They said regulations requiring separation between residential property developments with opposing windows “effectively sterilises our lands”:
“By embedding sensitive hotel bedrooms onto our boundary, the applicant blocks adjoining regeneration potential.”
The development proposal was amended by Red Rock in response to a request for further information by the council to address “concerns” in relation the layout of the ground floor, the lack of street frontage, and overlooking issues on upper storeys.
A redesign of 12 of the planned rooms set to overlook onto the conjoining property has been requested prior to the commencement of construction, to a maximum of 143 rooms.
As part of the approval, the developers will be required to make a development contribution of €625,872.20 to the council.
