Top restaurateur Patrick Guilbaud is expected to open a large-scale upmarket bistro this summer at a development on South Anne Street in Dublin's city centre.

The new 762 sq m (8,202 sq ft) restaurant is to be housed in the double height basement of developer Paddy McKillen's €22 million office and retail scheme, which is currently under construction.

The bistro represents a new venture for the Frenchman, whose eponymous establishment at the Merrion Hotel is one of only two restaurants in the country to have two Michelin stars.

However, Hamilton Osborne King, which is a joint agent on the scheme with HT Meagher O'Reilly, declined to confirm the letting. Larry Brennan, HOK's retail director, said: "We are in advanced negotiations with a top Dublin restaurateur for the entire basement space at the South Anne Street development." Brennan also declined to give any details of the leasing agreement.

The South Anne Street scheme has come under renewed press interest recently following a report that McKillen had succeeded in signing up the luxury retailer Armani. But Briarglen, the company McKillen and his business partner, solicitor Ivor Fitzpatrick, are using to develop the site, has denied the story. According to Brennan: "There are absolutely no letting agreements in place at this stage." He said the plan was to construct the units first and then allow potential retailers to assess the space.

The development at numbers 21 to 26 South Anne Street, which links Dawson Street to Grafton Street, has previously been marketed as Dublin's Bond Street, but Mr Brennan dismissed this interpretation as misleading. He said: "There can be no comparison between this scheme and London's Bond Street. We are only talking about a small strip of units."

Official marketing for the development is scheduled to get underway this summer and industry sources are expecting the scheme to pull in some major retail names.

Briarglen picked up the site for €5 million (IR£4m) in 1997 and had originally planned to build an upmarket hotel. But the developers were put off the idea a few years later following the rapid increase in hotel construction in the city centre.

The decision was then made to build an office and retail scheme but construction has continually been delayed on the site due to complex long-term tenancy disputes and conservation planning restrictions.

However, Sinead Christal, McKillen's project manager on the scheme, argues the finished product will be well worth the wait and claims the development, which is largely a façade retention of a terrace of late Georgian houses, will be a "landmark building when it's finished".

The basement restaurant and the three 557 sq m (6,000 sq ft) floors of office space will be accessed from Anne's Lane.

According to Ms Christal, the restaurant will feature a "beautiful open staircase" and "magnificent double-height glass entrance". The scheme's five retail units will all front onto South Anne Street and vary in size from 55-344 sq m (592-3,702 sq ft). Two of the units will feature listed bay window shop fronts.

Brennan claims the scheme's high-specification and stylish, modern interior will attract top retailers. He said: "The developers of South Anne Street are in the fortunate financial position of being able to complete the scheme first rather than have to secure pre-lettings and I think that is going to enable us to attract quality retailers."

Property sources claim McKillen and Fitzpatrick are still keen to sign up the Bond Street names like Armani and MaxMara. But they question whether this sector of the market may have already been exhausted, given the recent refurbishment of Brown Thomas where luxury retailers like Chanel, Hermes and Prada have their own concession units.

However, one industry source claimed the zone A rents at the South Anne Street scheme may represent better value than the high concession rents at BTs.

Mr Brennan said the scheme's off-pitch location - the site is closer to Dawson Street than the busier Grafton Street end - means it will be a destination retail area. He said: "We recognise that some retailers won't be right for this development. That's why we want to make sure this is a sustainable scheme and allow the retailers to walk around the space themselves."

According to Ms Christal, the scheme will be completed by October. She said the developers had decided not to fit-out the office units allowing the scheme to follow a tighter construction schedule.

She said once the commercial aspect of the development was finished, work would begin immediately on refurbishing and converting two of the houses into apartments. She added no decision had been made on whether to lease or sell the apartments.

McKillen is one of Ireland's wealthiest property developers. Industry sources value his stake in the Jervis Shopping Centre at €225 million to €275 million.

As well as holding extensive property interests in Northern Ireland, McKillen's Dublin property portfolio includes a stake in Ceva's headquarters at 32-34 Harcourt Street, and the Treasury building at Lower Grand Canal Street. He is also a part owner of several retailers, including Champion Sports. He holds a stake in the Irish franchises for Wagamama, Tower Records, Muji and Spoils. McKillen, who is now based in Paris, is also a part-owner of the Captain America's restaurant on Grafton Street.