Obtained Permission for office development at the New Ireland Building on Dawson Street, Dublin 2

2018 Planning Report for proposed development at No. 9-12 Dawson Street, Dublin 2.

Planning Report to accompany a Planning Application lodged with Dublin City Council for a development consisting of the upgrading of office use in these buildings together with a change of use of part of the ground floor to a restaurant at No. 9-12 Dawson Street, Dublin 2.

1

Manahan Planners 12/20/2018

Introduction This Planning Report has been prepared to accompany a planning application by Goldwing Real Estate Ventures Ltd. seeking permission for a development at No. 9-12 Dawson Street, Dublin 2.

Figure 1: Site Location Plan

The overall site contains three buildings which are located in Dawson Street in Dublin’s city centre. They were formerly owned and occupied by the New Ireland Assurance Company and are now vacant. They have been bought by the applicants who, in summary, intend to refurbish them and continue using them primarily for office use. It is intended to change the use of the majority of the ground floor from offices to restaurant and provide additional floor area on the roofs of these buildings.

2

Site Context The application site is a large, high-profile city centre site (1379 sq. m in size). The corner site is bounded by Dawson Street to the west and Dawson Lane to the south and east.

The site comprises three interlinking five-and six-storey buildings over single storey basements and was previously used as offices for New Ireland Assurance.

Due to its central location, the site is easily accessed by foot from the city centre or via public transport to further afield. The street is well served by buses and the Luas Green Line. In addition, the closest Dublin Bikes station is less than 50m on South Frederick Street that can be directly accessed via Dawson Lane.

Figure 2: Aerial photo of the surrounding area with an indicative outline of the site in red.

The Buildings The site accomodates three different buildings. The New Ireland Assurance buildings at No. 9-12 Dawson Street reflect the evolution of modern office buildings in Ireland since the early days of founding of the State. The oldest structure, completed in 1934 to a design by Vincent Kelly, is considered to be one of Ireland’s first purpose-built office buildings and its modernist design became an emblem of a progressive forward-looking Nation.

The buildings were constructed in three main phases of development, 1934 (Vincent Kelly), 1964 (Morris & McCullough Architects) and 1971 (Patrick Campbell &

3

Associates), over 40years ago. In the meantime, various adaptations have been carried out to the buildings and now none of the original designs remains fully intact.

Figure 3: Map showing location of three buildings at 9-12 Dawson Street, Dublin 2.

Building A originally extended from Dawson Street back to Dawson Lane when built in the 1934. The front of this building was demolished and replaced by a newer building in 1964. New Ireland then bought the neighbouring building No.9-10 and the current building was built on that in 1971. More details are given below extracted from the architects and conservation reports accompanying this application.

Building A - 1934 Building Designed by Vincent Kelly and completed in 1934, the modernist style features a plain façade populated with large rectilinear window openings. The original steel windows have been replaced with single glazed aluminium windows. The building structure is a concrete encased steel frame with ribbed concrete slabs spanning between beams. The Dawson Lane elevation is finished in rendered concrete with a coursed granite plinth rising to the underside of the ground floor window cills. The entrance door on Dawson Lane is flanked by two narrow vertical windows which have been altered from their original design.

Building B – 1964 Building Designed by Morris & McCullough Architects and completed in 1964, it is the most dramatic of the ensemble, and indeed, one of the most dramatically embellished buildings of its generation in Dublin. The nationalist sentiments of the New Ireland Assurance Company are proudly declared on the building’s façade which is constructed

4

predominantly in Irish materials. The building stands on the corner of Dawson Street and Dawson Lane with an oblique view down Duke Street towards Grafton Street. The building’s front facade is a classically modern five-bay composition with centrally placed solid double entrance doors decorated with Irish emblems. At second floor, three balconies are faced with repousse bronze panels decorated with Celtic interweave. The Celtic and Irish decorative elements are a significant part of the building’s historic and aesthetic appeal and this building may be the only surviving C20th building combining modernism with nationalist expression through the use of Celtic epigraphy and symbolism.

Building C – 1971 Building Building C (completed 1971) is a more tempered modern composition. It takes its lead from its 1964 companion at 11-12 Dawson Street, and is a five-bay structure with identical floor to ceiling spans. The slightly narrower street frontage at 9-10 Dawson Street has been accommodated by the elimination of the vertical structural elements and the emphasis is on the horizontal concrete floor beams, clad in granite. The tinted glass harmonises with the colour of the window frames so that when viewed from a distance the windows appear as a continuous horizontal band. At street level the building is handled quite differently from its neighbour, with a suspended dropped canopy, recessed ground floor glazing, and the entrance door offset at the south end of the elevation. A narrow horizontal gap between the uppermost granite band and the parapet adds to the muted elegance of the structure.

Existing Situation & Condition The buildings have recently been vacated by New Ireland Assurance as the buildings became unsuitable for changing work environments driven by advances in technology and workplace standards.

The soft strip-out works have been carried out to remove internal fit-out items such as raised access floors, suspended ceilings and partitions. These strip-out works have been monitored by Shaffrey Associates (RIAI Grade 1 Accredited Conservation Architects) to ensure that no historic fabric or detail was impacted.

The vacated buildings are no longer fit for purpose in the current office market and will require extensive redevelopment to attract new users. The buildings must evolve to remain relevant.

5

Provisions of Dublin City Development Plan Under the Dublin City Development Plan, the site is Zoned Z5, which seeks ‘to consolidate and facilitate the development of the central area, and to identify, reinforce, strengthen and protect its civic design character and dignity’.

Figure 3: Zoning Plan from Dublin City Development Plan 2016-2022 identifying the site (outlined in yellow) for Z5 use.

The principal approach behind the zoning is stated to provide a dynamic mix of uses which interact with each other, help create a sense of community which sustain the vitality of the inner city both by day and night. Therefore, many different uses are considered to be ‘permitted in principle’ under this zoning, including office, retail and restaurant/café uses.

In this case, the subject site lies within the South City Retail Quarter ACA that designates Dawson Street as a Category 2 Shopping street. Despite this designation, it is noted that the Grafton Street & Environs ACA does not include the subject site but stretches to its Dawson Street boundary.

Further, the buildings are proposed to be added to the List of Protected Structures. This is yet to be confirmed but is proposed at present to apply to the entire of No. 11/12 but only the front wall/facade of No.9/10.

6

Planning History Subject Site 3172/04 An application was lodged (Reg. Ref. 6099/05) in June 2004 for the formation of a new ground floor exit onto Dawson Lane, Dublin 2.

The application was granted permission by the Dublin City Council in August 2004.

Neighbouring Site 15-17 Dawson St DCC Reg. Ref. 2338/15 and ABP Ref PL29S244917 A planning application was lodged in March 2015 south of the subject site, bounded by Dawson Street and Molesworth Street and is adjoined to the rear, east side and north side by Dawson Lane (totalling 0.185 ha).

The proposed development involved the demolition of the existing, 5- storey Royal Sun Alliance Building for the construction of a replacement 6-storey over basement building for office, retail and cafĂŠ use.

It included a retail unit (class 1-Shop) with a GFA of 2,147 sq.m over lower ground and ground floor level with an option to sub-divide into two number retail units and a cafe/restaurant with a GFA of 218 sq.m at ground floor level with associated signage zones and a retractable awning for the cafe/restaurant. The fifth floor (sixth storey) along Dawson Street and fourth and fifth floors (fifth and sixth storeys) along Molesworth Street are set back with terrace areas provided on the south (fourth floor) and west (fifth floor) elevations. The development includes the provision of 27 no. car parking spaces, 100 no. bicycle spaces, and 4 no. motorcycle spaces and showers, lockers and changing facilities at basement level. Vehicular access to the car parking spaces provided via proposed car lifts accessed from Dawson Lane. The development includes two ESB substations, a Luas stop cubicle room, plant areas (including recessed plant area at roof level) and al associated site development works.

The application was granted by Dublin City Council in April 2015 but was appealed to An Bord Pleanala by An Taisce who upheld the decision of the Planning Authority, subject to some minor additional requirements that can be addressed by condition, in July 2015 and granted permission.

7

The Proposal The Statutory Notices read as follows: Dublin City Council –Planning permission is sought by Goldwing Real Estate Ventures Ltd. for a development at the former New Ireland premises at No. 9-12 Dawson Street, Dublin 2. The premises consists of Building A (a 1930s building bounded by Dawson Lane and to rear of No. 11-12), Building B (a 1964 building facing Dawson Street and Dawson Lane, to the front of no. 11-12) and Building C (a 1971 building, No. 9-10 Dawson street). No. 11-12 and the façade only of No. 9-10 are proposed Protected Structures. The development involves the continued use of the basement for plant and car parking with access from Dawson Lane and introduces cycle parking, storage, shower and locker facilities. A change of use of the ground floor of No. 9-10 Dawson Street and rear of No. 11-12 Dawson Street from office use to licensed restaurant use is proposed totalling 851.7 m2. The existing office entrance at No. 11-12 is to be upgraded including recovery and reinstatement of double height entrance hall and will be used as access foyer to offices on the upper floors which use shall be retained. It is proposed to upgrade the existing office areas in No. 11-12 at 1st to 4th floor levels, including demolition of section of wall, removing existing screens, partitions, core areas and installing new cores including lifts, stairs and staff facilities and infilling of light well.

Demolish parts of existing floor areas, and existing stair cores, screens and partitions at 1st to 4thfloor area in the part of No. 9-10 not proposed for protection and construct replacement rear extension (of 2,476.7m2) and create new stairs, lifts cores and staff facilities, to create open plan areas for continued office use, at 1st -4th floor level in all buildings. Remove existing office area over No. 9-10 and plant over No. 11-12 and replace with setback office area with stair cores, lifts and staff facilities at 5th floor level above all buildings. Remove plant area above No. 9-10 and replace with setback office area with stair cores, lifts and staff facilities at 6th floor level over all buildings. Provide new green roof, solar panels and plant at roof level and ESB Substation at rear at ground floor on Dawson Lane. The proposal includes revised and upgraded elevations to Dawson Street and Dawson Lane involving the recovery of external original details, fenestration patterns with improved thermal performance. The proposed works will provide for additional interconnection between buildings, structural upgrade works, upgrade works to improve the fire safety standards and servicing requirements of the buildings with provision of new service core to meet current regulatory requirements for office use. Works will include repair and renewal of decorations and finishes throughout. Total floor area at present is 6731.1m2 and at completion will be 9,207.8 m2. The buildings will have two set back floor areas over five floors with basement, eight floors in all.

8

In brief, the proposal entails the following works: At basement level: Retain as at present for car parking and storage and introduce cycle parking and showers.

At ground floor level: Change use from office to restaurant entered from No.9/10 and upgrade existing office entrance at No. 11/12 to serve as entrance to all offices on upper floors. Provide ESB substation on Dawson Lane to the rear.

First to Fifth floors: Refurbish as office use, relocate lift and stair cores, fill in light well, build extension at rear of No.9/10, remove existing screens and partitions to create single office floor plates.

Sixth and seventh Floors: remove office area and plant and provide additional office area in this location.

External Elevations: repair and upgrade external elevations.

Roof: Provide solar panels.

The application is concerned with changes proposed to the three buildings within the red line of the application. The applicants now own an area (shown within a blue line) located to the rear of the houses on South Frederick Street accessed from Dawson Lane.

This area is not within the red line and is not part of the current application. The area was used for the parking of cars by the office workers in the New Ireland building. This area is not part of the application and it is proposed to transfer this land back to the owners of the three period houses so that their original plots can be re-instated. It is submitted that this is a contribution by the applicants towards achieving the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

Figure 4: Map marked with site notices locations

9

Planning Assessment Land Use As outlined above, the proposed development is located within an area with a zoning designation where office and restaurant use are "Permitted in Principle" land uses as per the current Development Plan.

Section 14.8.5 of the current development Plan outlines the primary purpose of Z5 zoning which seeks ‘to provide a dynamic mix of uses which interact with each other, help create a sense of community, and which sustain the vitality of the inner city both by day and night’.

In addition to the purpose of Z5, the Development Plan's Retail Strategy and South City Retail Quarter ACA designate Dawson Street as a 'Category 2' retail street which encourages retail at ground floor level. It states that "complementary non-retail uses such as a cafe and restaurants that add to the vibrancy of the street and create a mixeduse environment to provide for a more integrated shopping and leisure experience, will be considered favourably but with regard also to the primary retail function of the street."

Over the past number of years, the city centre has experienced a decline in the demand for retail floorspace, which has resulted in reduction in the amount of retail units on streets such as Dawson Street. As a means to counter this growing trend and maintain a street’s vibrancy, the encouragement of restaurant uses at street level is considered an optimal alternative use for the ground floor of this new development.

In light of the objectives, this proposal would help strengthen the character of Dawson Street by introducing an additional mix of uses to the existing building and the street thus providing a more active ground floor use. On a micro level, this combination of uses within the building can contribute to the long-term vibrancy of the street while improving the offering available within the City Centre Retail Core at a more macro level.

Design & Reuse of Building Equally important to the sustainability of the street is the fact that the building is iconic.

Once described as “modernism tempered by a classical sensibility” by Christine Casey, the building is loaded with Gaelic symbolism and is very much of its time. Despite Archiseek defending it as one of the better such office buildings of the 1960s, concerns were raised by the media, prior to the applicants purchase, that the building would be demolished and replaced by a generic building as it was not listed as a Protected Structure.

Despite proposals by other aspiring purchasers who may have sought to demolish the unique building, the Applicant considered that reuse and internal upgrading and expansion of the existing buildings was the ideal approach. Although it was not protected at the time of purchase, the Applicant considered that the treatment of the

10

buildings warranted careful consideration and wishes to proceed in a manner that largely retains the buildings in their historical format while upgrading them internally so as to make them suited to modern office requirements.

Conservation Approach The buildings have aged to the point where they are no longer suitable for 21st Century usage. The development has focussed identifying, isolating and bring back many of the features of the 1930’s building. (Building A) As a result of these changes this building will be more easily identifiable both internally and externally.

In the case of Building B (No’s 11/12), the front elevation and the early features of the entrance foyer will be brought back to their original condition.

The frontage of Building C (No’s 9/10) will be repaired as per the accompanying details and specification.

Full details of all these conservation works are in the accompanying report from Shaffrey Associates, Conservation Consultants.

Design Response The Architectural Design approach is outlined in the accompanying report from Mahoney Architecture. It notes: The various phases of development of the buildings has resulted in a floor plate which has no clear organisational structure and is deficient in many aspects of Building Regulations compliance. The buildings were designed as separate entities and as a result the arrangement of circulation within the building is haphazard, inefficient and noncompliant with current building standards. The proposed development will rationalise these deficiencies and deliver a building with a central core, containing vertical circulation (lifts and stairs), washrooms and service risers. This core will be accessed at ground level from Dawson Street in the 1964 building, therefore re-establishing the historic entrance.

We will also reinstate the original double height entrance lobby as well as the open plan relationship between the lobby and the original terrazzo staircase. It is intended that the interior of this space will incorporate materials used in the original foyer including Connemara marble and Terrazzo.

The glazing of the original façade of the 1964 building reflected the double height interior space of the entrance lobby; however solid infill panels have replaced some of the glazing at first floor level, eliminating this relationship. These infill panels will be removed in the new development and the original condition will be reinstated.

11

Building Height, Scale and Massing This is set by the buildings on site in that their existence establishes a baseline on this site. Given the city centre location, the existence of higher adjacent and adjoining buildings, and the presence of office accommodation, stair cores and prominent plant, on the upper floors, there is scope to increase the height in a set-back fashion on the individual buildings. This impacts of this additional floor area in a set-back manner is examined in the CGI’s which accompany the application.

Change of Use to Restaurant The subject site is located on Dawson Street which is classified as a 'Category 2' retail street in the Development Plan's Retail Strategy.

The Retail Strategy supports the presence of cafe's on Category 2 streets, stating "complementary non-retail uses such as a cafe and restaurants that add to the vibrancy of the street and create a mixed-use environment to provide for a more integrated shopping and leisure experience, will be considered favourably but with regard also to the primary retail function of the street."

Paragraph 10.5.2 of the Development Plan identifies the need to control "the extent of provision of non-retail uses at ground floor level, but also allows for uses complementary to the main shopping focus such as a cafĂŠs, bars, restaurants and galleries".

A restaurant/cafe is a permissible use under Z5 zoning.

Policy RE10 recognises the importance of the locally traded service sector and seeks to "promote and facilitate the economic and employment generating potential of the locally traded services sector, making the city more attractive/vibrant for residents, shoppers, visitors and workers, and to recognise the clustering benefits of, for example, cafes and restaurants".

There has been comment recently concerning the loss of retail premises within Dublin City Centre, with an increased demand for cafe and restaurant uses. In the past this would represent a worrying trend, one that was often associated with the urban decline and the emergence of suburban shopping centres. This "suburban flight" was symptomatic of the threats that city centres around the world faced in the past three or four decades. Many city centres were "hollowed" out and suffered from the "donut effect" which led in many places to decades of vacancy and urban decay.

However, rather than a sign of the decline of city centre streets, the increase in demand for cafe and restaurant premises is part of an international trend that can be associated with city centres that experience increased liveability and improved pedestrian environments. City centres today strive to be places that people stay in and spend time in, rather than as purely locations to carry out functional tasks such as offices and shopping, which close at 6.00 and are empty at night.

12

It is the case that the retail sector has undergone radical transformations, with iconic Dublin stores changing ownership, the introduction of international brands and arguably most critically, the emergence of online retailing. This has led to some retailers reducing their requirement for floor space in city centre premises. To leave their premises empty and vacant would create a sense of decay and dereliction rather than vibrancy and making streets attractive places to visit.

As the Development Plan's Retail Strategy outlines, cafes create a valuable contribution to the "integrated shopping and leisure experience" in Dublin City centre.

The proposed restaurant will bring increased vibrancy to this part of Dawson Street and will arguably bring greater activity than the former office building and generate larger flows of pedestrian footfall. The restaurant itself will be a high grade steakhouse and its layout is shown on the accompanying drawings.

Dawson Street, as a Category 2 retail street, requires ancillary and complementary businesses such as cafe's to augment its retail presence and improve the user experience of visitors to the street. Further, Dawson Street already has a strong presence of commercial units. Again, as the economy has strengthened recently after a protracted downturn, there is a greater demand for office space in the city centre and on streets such as Dawson Street. A plentiful supply of cafe's, restaurants and bars in the local vicinity has become an increasing priority for occupiers and prospective tenants of these commercial premises.

A city and its centre in particular, is primarily a meeting place for its citizens to transact its work and leisure activities. Increasingly the quality and quantity of its coffee shops in a city centre is a draw for tourists and is used by the local tourist board in its promotional literature – think Munich, Vienna, Barcelona. Dublin must not lose out.

Finally a city is ever evolving. Changes of use to coffee shops or restaurants are easily reversible. If in the future the demand for retail floor space picks up again and if retail generates a greater return than a coffee shop, owners and occupiers of buildings will migrate back to retail. In the meantime, buildings should continue in uses that are desirable and sought after at the time.

Allied Consultants Reports Apart from this Town Planning Statement, the application is supported by the following reports:      

Architectural Design Report from Mahoney Architects Conservation Report & Photographic Record from Shaffrey Associates Structural Report & drawings from Sutton Cronin Services Strategy from OCSC Construction Management Plan from Sutton Cronin Shadow Analysis, Daylight Impact Assessment & CGIs from Digital Dimensions

13

    

Traffic Impact Assessment & Mobility Management Plan from Sutton Cronin Façade Analysis from Murphy Façade Studio Waste Management Plan from Sutton Cronin Flood Risk Assessment from Sutton Cronin Fire Strategy Report from Goldsmith Engineering.

Screening for Appropriate Assessment Having regard to nature of the proposed development, and location of the application site in the city centre of Dublin and the distance to the nearest European site, it is submitted that no appropriate assessment issues arise. It is our opinion that the proposed development would likely not have a significant effect individually or in combination with other plans and projects, on a European site.

Conclusion This application involves the re-use and creation of a high quality office facility consistent with the zoning objective and located on a high intensity public transport corridor in line with planning policy. It involves the refurbishment of buildings proposed for inclusion on the list of Protected Structures in accordance with best conservation practice. It will introduce a new restaurant to add to the liveliness and attractiveness of the area in line with the zoning objective.

It is submitted, accordingly, that the proposal is consistent with the provisions of the Dublin City Development Plan and with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

It is requested that the Dublin City Council proceed to grant permission for this worthy and appropriate development.

Manahan Planners December 2018

14