college green/ o’connell street plaza and pedestrians

Originally posted by StephenC
The new retail development at the BOI across from Parliament House will surely change the footfall of the area so I think greater pedestrianisation will have to be considered in the future.

Retailer sought for former bank linking College Green and Suffolk

Bank Redevelopment

An international campaign has begun to get tenants for the largest city centre retail space to have come on the market for years. Jack Fagan reports

An international marketing campaign has been launched to find retail tenants for the former Bank of Ireland building linking College Green with Suffolk Street in Dublin 2.

White Glory, a consortium led by the owners of Powerscourt Townhouse, is expected to fetch at least €2 million in rent from the retail areas which will have a total floor are of 3,000 sq m (32,291 sq ft). There will be three levels of retail use at the Suffolk Street end, basement, ground and first floor, and mainly one level fronting on to College Green.

Though the owners would ideally like a single user, the odds are that it will be broken up among two or three leading retailers.

Fergus Keane of agent Hamilton Osborne King says the retail space is easily the largest to have come on the market in Dublin city centre in recent years. The building is currently being extended and redeveloped and is expected to be ready for fit-out by the end of the year.

Keane says it is likely to be of interest to fashion retailers targeting Grafton Street who either can’t find suitable premises or are reluctant to pay Grafton Street rents.The Suffolk Street frontage lends itself to being divided into two shop units of 668 sq m (7,190 sq ft) on ground level and 1,530 sq m (16,468 sq ft) over two other levels with back-up space in the basement. Under this arrangement, the College Green end could be let separately with 748.9 sq m (8,061 sq ft) of space available.

Keane expects the building to be of interest to retailers such as Zara, Massimo Durtti Bershkja, Boots and FCUK. Between 20 and 30 retailers are currently seeking representation in Dublin’s south city.

In addition to the retail space, the building will also have about 4,000 sq m (43,055 sq ft) of offices on the top floors

The current owners paid around €22 million for the building, which is composed of two distinctly different structures, one a large 19th century double height banking hall fronting on to College Green and, on Suffolk Street, a 1960s building that is being enlarged.

I thought this facade was really ugly, monotonous and not untypical of any other bland blocks. This area of town really suffers from spectacular banality in parts (Ulster Bank, Kilkenny House, Norwich House, Castle House, Blarney House…..Zzzzzz – such crap

Graham I dont know whether its called Blarney house! But its dire nonetheless.

Saw a montage of the proposed replacement – its just as banal as its predecessor.

Have to also remark that, as I have said before, trees should not dominate exceptional works of architecture. All of the trees on College Green should be removed as they obscure some of Ireland’s best works. Can you think of any similar plaza in Europe so dominated by trees? Imagine the Grand Place in Brussels with these London Plane Trees – no doubt they thought that the fine square looks better without. Clerys and the GPO can at last be well appreciated without those obscuring London Planes.

These trees camofage Foster Place and inhibit uninterrupted views of both Trinity and The Old Parliament, not to mention the fine builings on the south of the street – the detailing on the old Ulster Bank and the Closed Bank of Ireland are particular works of High Victorian skill (and sculpture – note the statue at the top of the closed Bank of Ireland with the lettering ‘Erin go Brath!’)

I heard that DCC had done some kind of feasibility study based on using glass screens or the likes to close off Foster St from College Green…to look at keeping taxis out of the space…this was about 3 months ago…not sure what the latest is

Originally posted by Diaspora
It sounded like the pedestrainisation of College Green is “agreed”

I hope it comes to pass, Dublin would benefit enormously.

How would this work? Would the stretch of road passing the Bank of Ireland have to stay open to cars to allow traffic from Dame street on to Westmoreland Street? What about traffic from D’Olier street that goes across college green towards Westmoreland Street?

Nassau street can be discounted as it would become pointless as a route but

Take a look at the volume of traffic that continues from the North Quay to Dame Street via College Green. All of the traffic for Dame Steet, Georges Street and Christchurch would have to be channelled down the quay and up Parliament Street.

Hundreds upon hundreds of people get buses to work which stop at opp. trinity St. via Dame Street. Would all of these be re-routed up Georges Street? Or Suffolk Street?

Take a look at the traffic jams – all day – on Pearse Street with it’s 4 lanes. And only 3 buses serve it. Take 2 lanes away? Insanity

Don’t want to be a wet blanket but the total chaos caused just because we want to walk from Trinity to um, eh, where exactly? To admire the Bank of Ireland’s railings?

It would seem that the only way to acheive the ideal is to build an underpass.

Where is all this traffic going? I am used to using my car all the time, as an ex-migrant to the US: here i use it once or twice a week, if that: to shop at a suburban “mall” ( too far to walk), and to leave the city. I never go across the Liffey. Every time I see cars stuck in traffic that are not taxis, I think Why? Make it difficult for traffic to come to town, and the occupients will have to take freer flowing buses.

I think one of the most unappreciated areas of the city centre is the College St/Westmoreland St junction – it’s one of the best places in the whole city, with the House of Lords and Westin and Trinity’s end pavilion all facing onto it, as well as the stock of College St itself.
There is real potential here to improve and extend the island, including the removal of the toilets there. The Moore trees have been cut over the summer so you can see him now, he looks quite well with the shady canopy floating over his head.
I’ve an interesting pic of an effort to improve here in the past with a line of trees planted along the roadside, probably in the 60s – they’re gone now.

Definitely.
I was wondering why the flow on Pearse St had altered so much – never thought of the Luas. Have to say I welcome it though cause it’s much easier to cross now!

Agreed about the linking of ‘The Grand Thoroughfare’ as it’s so often described, from City Hall to O’ Cll St. What a difference it would make to the image of the city centre if nothing else, let alone the lives of those who use it. Traffic should continue to play a part on some city streets, but should not dominate as it currently does.