Ballymore lodges planning application to ‘open the gates’ to historic St. James’s Gate

Ballymore has today (29 July) submitted planning permission to Dublin City Council to regenerate and open the gates of the historic St. James’s Gate site to become the ‘Guinness Quarter’ – a world class, modern, and dynamic urban neighbourhood in Dublin 8.

Ballymore, in close collaboration with Diageo, has developed a masterplan for St. James’s Gate that brings this vision to life by creating a seamless union of residential living, community, entrepreneurship, creativity, sustainability, commerce, culture and public space, while retaining the site’s unique built heritage, complemented by the very best of carefully considered architecture and urban design. The masterplan has been sensitively shaped and designed by taking its direction from the fabric, heights and massing of the existing brewery site and its environs.

The main features of the plan include:

• A network of fixed and flexible inside and outside spaces for culture and community use including a flexible multi-use space that can cater for a variety of uses, such as a c.300 seated performance format.
• More than 2 acres of landscaped public spaces.
• A vibrant and exciting Food Hall that will be a landmark destination for people to taste and experience the best of regional, national, and international cuisine.
• A marketplace to showcase local, regional, and national producers and creators.
• Commercial workspaces designed to cater for a sustainable mix of large, medium, and small enterprises.
• 336 homes, with a mix including one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments. The scheme includes homes to buy, homes to rent and social homes.  The ambition is for the Iveagh Trust to be the social housing partner.
• The site includes bicycle parking infrastructure with 2,000 bicycle parking spaces in the heart of the development.
• Hotel accommodation to cater for both the leisure and business visitors to the area.
• The refurbishment, repurposing, and extension of heritage structures and the retention of key conservation features.

As a pioneer of some of Europe’s largest regeneration projects, Ballymore will bring its vast and varied experience to this landmark development for the city. Sean Mulryan, Group Chairman and Chief Executive of Ballymore, said: “This is modern, sensitive and highly sustainable urban design at its best and Ballymore is honoured to be a custodian of the site’s heritage, while adding the next layer of history and legacy to this important area of Dublin. 

“By balancing new and carefully considered interventions with heritage buildings, which are being repurposed and given a new lease of life, our vision is that St. James’s Gate will be among the finest examples of sustainable urban development, protecting the cultural, community, social, and industrial legacy of this part of Dublin 8 and the Liberties. It will be a development that everyone in Dublin will be proud of and enjoy,” he added. 

Barry O’Sullivan, Managing Director, Diageo Ireland said; “The history and heritage of Guinness and St. James’s Gate for Dublin and the local community is hugely important. It is a unique and special place. The plan that has been created respects this historic community while also transforming it into one of the most dynamic neighbourhoods in Europe.

“This allows us to continue our centuries old brewing operations in Dublin 8 while also developing the area into a truly modern place to live, work and play. We have engaged extensively with the local community to develop this plan and look forward to further conversation as we take the next step on the journey towards creating the Guinness Quarter.”

Ballymore and Diageo have placed sustainability at the heart of their proposals for Guinness Quarter. The joint ambition is to create Dublin’s first operational zero-carbon district that respects both the wider community and the natural environment.

This vision for the Guinness Quarter has been strongly influenced by extensive engagement with the local community since 2017, including over 120 local community groups, public representatives, local businesses, and many others.