Thomas Street & James Street, Dublin!

@GregF wrote:

Saw on the Irish Times today that the DCC is planning a whole new regeneration project for this area….aka, the Liberties etc… About time! North King Street and Smithfield have never looked back since their makeover. Let’s hope Thomas St., James St., etc… gets the attention it deserves.

Smithfield, in my experience, is regarded as a massive failure by local residents. The Liberties could do well to learn how not to repeat similar mistakes.

Anyone know what building this is / was?

The cynic in me suggests foul play.
@ireland.com wrote:

Dublin fire disrupts Luas services

Four units of Dublin Fire Brigade are tackling a blaze in a derelict building in the inner city.

The fire broke out shortly before 8am close to St James’s Hospital in the south inner city.

No injuries were reported, and it is believed the building was empty at the time.

James’s Street was closed to inbound traffic, and gardaí are directing motorists. Service on the Luas Red Line was disrupted between Heuston and Blackhorse Stations.

@StephenC wrote:

I agree! What a spectacularly over the top statement Adolf Luas to say that Smithfield is seen as a “massive failure”. What residents are you refering to? The residents of Council houses at the north end that now have shops, a supermarket, a health centre, a gym, restuarants, bars,cafe, a cinema (soon), and cultural facilities. Or perhaps to mean the Council residents on Balckhall Place who have received completely revamped apartments as well as the above. Or maybe you mean the new residents to the area – ie the ones who werent there before!

Its obvious that Smithfeild isnt perfect and there is still along way to go, particularly the inexplicable lack of attention to the southern part of the square. It has its problems and I would have plenty to say about some aspects of whats happened there. But its not a massive failure!

I was privy to some research on this previously and in general the regen is welcomed by the community. But to note the health centre is not viewed as a community facility at all and apart from the spar the yokels don’t rate the new fancy dan shops and miss the old fruit and veg shop/wholesalers that was once there. Re; Blackhall place/marmion court – the locals hate the salmpn pink paint/render of the new(ish) duplexes along there and Queen st. A mixed bag

But they still seem to dominate the area despite all the gentrification and yuppification. When all the Corpo housing was built in the ‘80s the first tenants must have done nothing but spawn kids for the next 10 years solid because the place is full of teenagers. And now they use the pedestrianised streets of Smithfield Market and Smithfield Village as their playground, streets that were supposed to be full of sophisticated urbanites shopping in artisan delis. But there is only the local kids going shouting through the streets, having snogging competitions and throwing their junk food wrapping on the ground. Integration of the new and existing communitiues isn’t too good in Smithfield.

@Devin wrote:

But they still seem to dominate the area despite all the gentrification and yuppification. When all the Corpo housing was built in the ‘80s the first tenants must have done nothing but spawn kids for the next 10 years solid because the place is full of teenagers. And now they use the pedestrianised streets of Smithfield Market and Smithfield Village as their playground, streets that were supposed to be full of sophisticated urbanites shopping in artisan delis. But there is only the local kids going shouting through the streets, having snogging competitions and throwing their junk food wrapping on the ground. Integration of the new and existing communitiues isn’t too good in Smithfield.

I think your perception is most definitely more influenced by the shenanigans outside the Juvenile courts than by any serious demographic analysis Devin. From what little I know the locla community broadly welcome the regeneration. The existing community is also very tightly knit (ie made up of a limited number of family groups) that have been there for 3+ generations not really lending itself to immediate integration

@StephenC wrote:

I agree! What a spectacularly over the top statement Adolf Luas to say that Smithfield is seen as a “massive failure”. What residents are you refering to? The residents of Council houses at the north end that now have shops, a supermarket, a health centre, a gym, restuarants, bars,cafe, a cinema (soon), and cultural facilities. Or perhaps to mean the Council residents on Balckhall Place who have received completely revamped apartments as well as the above. Or maybe you mean the new residents to the area – ie the ones who werent there before!

Its obvious that Smithfeild isnt perfect and there is still along way to go, particularly the inexplicable lack of attention to the southern part of the square. It has its problems and I would have plenty to say about some aspects of whats happened there. But its not a massive failure!

I have recently attended some weekly workshop meetings organised by the Grangegorman Development Agency prior to an announcement regarding a master plan for the redevelopment of the Grangegorman site which will incorporate the new DIT campus as well as an Educate Together school and a health board facility.
Members of the local community have been exploring different aspects of how DIT will affect and integrate with its immediate environment. The one example that seems to have been repeatedly cited at these meetings of how things recently went wrong is the redevelopment of Smithfield. Of course there have been improvements, particularly Shay Cleary’s remodelling of the flats on North King Street that were previously in a terrible state. Although Smithfield Square itself has been improved upon I still think it has failed. Many of the ground floor units remain empty on Smithfield, North King Street and on Brunswick Street. The health centre is, I believe, great. However, a flat fee of 120 euro to see a doctor exists as opposed to the usual 50 euro for all the other GP’s in the area. The supermarket, Fresh is also very nice but overpriced. Thomas Reid, the bar, is always almost empty. The Gym has a spectacular swimming pool that is only open to adults. I have to drive my daughter to Finglas for a swim. The viewing tower in the chimney has, as far as I know, been closed for some time. The square is a wind tunnel, quite why another smaller open area in front of the tower was necessary is beyond me. Most attempts at cultural events seem to fall flat on their face, the space is just too long and open.The groovy little sound/lighting building at the southern end of the square has always been totally redundant. The gas braziers that used to be lit every weekend are rarely operational. Whenever I’ve attended any cultural/musical events at Smithfield I’ve looked up at the myriad of balconies that overlook the square and would be hard pressed to spot more than half a dozen residents actually watching the proceedings. The apartment dwellers and Smithfield don’t appear to connect. The Lighthouse cinema is very exciting, a very welcome development that’s been on the cards for years. Less welcome, in my opinion, is a sign currently on one of the units that reads “coming soon. Paddy Power”. Aesthetically I think most of the development looks awful and think it will look really terrible in a few years time. That’s a matter of personal taste though.
I’ve lived in the area for 17 years and was genuinely very excited about the whole Smithfield scheme. Some may see it as a success, I’m not being negative I just think its failed on many levels, in particular in terms of what has been given back to the local community as opposed to facilities for people who reside in the apartments.

As we saw in the papers today, these two have now been refused:

http://www.pleanala.ie/casenum/221294.htm
http://www.pleanala.ie/casenum/219930.htm

Passed by DCC, there was some good design in the Windmill site, but they were trying to squeeze on way too much development, and that’s what tripped them up in the end.

The revised proposal for the “mini-manhattan” site across the road was lodged on the 11th of October. Just one 26-storey building this time, and some lower ones. Details: <a href="http://www.dublincity.ie/swiftlg/apas/run/WPHAPPDETAIL.DisplayUrl?theApnID=5666/07&backURL=Search%20Criteria%20>%20Ref. 5666/07

3/1/2008

As some may have seen in the news section today, Harry Crosbie has just lodged a planning application for an – unorthodox shall we say – hotel just off Thomas Street behind the Vicar Street music venue. It is to be sited on the footprint of this warehouse building to the rear.

‘Monastic no star’ hotel for Vicar Street
Edel Morgan

Crosbie Property has submitted a planning application for a 200-bedroom “no star” hotel as part of the Vicar Street music venue which will be almost “monastic” in terms of its facilities, says developer Harry Crosbie.

Designed by Grafton Architects, the hotel will not seek a star rating from Bord Fáilte because it will be “too basic to have any stars”, says Crosbie

The press release announcing the planning application says the polished concrete walls of the rooms will be “a homage to Corbusier and Eileen Gray”. Crosbie himself describes the rooms as “cells to sleep in with concrete walls and a very good bed with a duvet”.

There will be a communal TV room on the top floor. The most lavish aspect of the development will be the €1 million spent on art works by young Irish artists for the bedrooms.

Crosbie says everything else will be “very basic” such as the freight lift which will bring patrons to the residents’ bar and check-in area in a “big glass box on top of the hotel” which will look out over the city. The proposal is to locate the hotel to the rear of the the music venue and demolish an existing warehouse on the site.

He says that the “no star” approach is part of a worldwide trend to offer hotel accommodation “at the lowest possible prices”.

Packages will be available to people attending shows and concerts at Vicar Street. the new Point Arena and the Libeskind theatre in the docklands, and room rates will start at €50.

© The Irish Times

Grafton Architects’ involvement sounds encouraging. Although not everyone’s a fan of their house style, I’d certainly welcome a trademark crisp cubular edifice in what is a particularly jaded area as far as contemporary design is concerned – the idiom usually extending itself to red brick boxes with a ‘modrin’ boxy timber window.

Just a slight concern as to the standard this development may set for the area, given it’s little better than a high class hostel; then again that’s (rather unfortunately) a decent step up for Thomas Street. Also I cannot imagine it to be anything less than impeccably managed, and there is huge demand for this type of accommodation in which Dublin is lacking. Apparently it’s intended as a ‘young rocker’s hotel’. It’s also great to see budget accommodation getting a smart, purpose-built solution for once, rather than the northern Georgian core getting mauled; 200 bedrooms equates to an entire streetscape of saved townhouses! Thanks Harry 😉

It was passing by this morning as the notice went up that brought it to my attention.

(Grafton are so uber-chic they even sign off in lower case…)

Forget that – you can see it in the background of Mr.Hickey’s photograph -they’re at the steelwork.

@GrahamH wrote:

(Grafton are so uber-chic they even sign off in lower case…)

Just like ee cummings, yes, but also like k.d. lang, let’s not forget. 😉

I’m keen to see the design for this. As you say, Graham, the city needs it.

@GrahamH wrote:

What’s the glowing tubular yokamabob to the side there?

Whatever else it is, the word ‘unnecessary’ springs to mind. It looks like a heated towel rail. Maybe a detail from the Grafton scheme got taken by the breeze and landed on the wrong side of the road?