Dublin City Council has confirmed it is in “exclusive discussions” to buy the former Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) on Kevin Street, sold by the State six years ago for €145 million.
Council chief executive Richard Shakespeare is understood to have made an offer of about €100 million for the site of the former college, now a derelict, partially built office block, and intends to develop it for a new council headquarters.
The plan would involve all staff leaving the council’s base at Wood Quay, the 1970s office complex designed by Sam Stephenson, which controversially involved the destruction of the remains of a Viking settlement.
The Wood Quay site would then be redeveloped for more than 500 public homes, the council said.
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The Kevin Street site, close to St Stephen’s Green, already has planning permission for a mixed office and apartment scheme called Camden Yard, with two office blocks up to 11 storeys in height, and 299 build-to-rent apartments across three buildings up to 14 storeys tall.
In a letter to councillors on Friday afternoon Mr Shakespeare said the acquisition would “enable the delivery of a new Civic Offices and up to 300 public homes on the Camden Yard site”.
Retrofitting the existing Civic Offices at Wood Quay to meet climate commitments “is currently estimated to require €350 –€400 million. Relocating from Wood Quay would unlock the potential for in excess of 500 public homes on the current Civic Offices site, while enabling modern, sustainable workplaces for staff and improved public services for citizens,” he said.
“Developing modern, energy‑efficient accommodation at Camden Yard would significantly reduce our operational emissions while freeing the Wood Quay site for much‑needed public housing,” his letter states.
The old college campus, which first opened more 130 years ago, was sold in 2019 as part of the move by the DIT, now TU Dublin, to its consolidated campus at Grangegorman, on the northside of the city.
Developer Westridge Real Estate paid in the region of €145 million for the college site, almost twice the €80 million guide piece, on behalf of US investors, and in September 2021 secured planning permission for its redevelopment.
Construction started in 2022 but stalled two years later, with the shell of just two storeys built. Late last year, funder BentallGreenOak appointed Grant Thornton as receivers to the project.
Another company, Orange Capital Partners (OCP), was reported to be in negotiations to purchase the site since August, having submitted a €91 million offer – just above the €90 million guide price. However, this sale didn’t go ahead.
