Leading property developer Paddy McKillen is to seek planning permission for

a new 150-bedroom hotel at a former warehouse at North Wall Quay in the Dublin docklands, which he has just bought from Nama.

The warehouse is close to the new headquarters of the Central Bank and at the front of the newly-designated Project Wave site where Singapore developer Oxley has teamed up with Seán Mulryan's Ballymore to develop 60,000sq m (645,834sq ft) of offices and 200 apartments.

The conversion of the warehouse into a top-class hotel is likely to be viewed as broadening the appeal of the Nama sponsored office/apartment project, which is located in a Strategic Development Zone to allow the promoters to avail of fast-track planning with no third party planning objection.

Cian McMorrow of agents Bannon had initially sought €3.9 million for the red-brick warehouse but after competitive bidding by a range of Irish and overseas developers it was knocked down to Oakmount, a company linked to McKillen, for a figure of about €5 million.

The new owners apparently plan to spend more than €10 million on adding a further four floors to the three-storey building to enable it accommodate about 150 bedrooms.

International developer Hines is also understood to be planning to build a hotel in the north docklands following reports that the city needs an additional 5,000 bedrooms to cater for the fast-expanding tourist and business trades.

Mr McKillen’s company is now a major player in the hotel, bar and restaurant markets in Dublin.

Its most recently opened hotel, the Dean Hotel on Harcourt Street, had a 97 per cent occupancy rate during the month of September.