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DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL has put out a tender for a new City Library at Parnell Square.
The works include the redevelopment of one of the Georgian houses at Number 27 Parnell Square West, and a new public plaza created in front of the city library buildings and the Hugh Lane Gallery.
The Dublin City Library will form a large part of the Parnell Cultural Quarter, which has been in development since 2013.
Green Party councillor for Dublin’s North Inner City, Janet Horner, told The Journal that it’s a “massive flagship project for the city”.
“It’s been frustrating to see something that I think will really transform Dublin 1 stall for such a long time,” said Horner, “but it’s great that we are progressing on it.”
She said her understanding is that work will start on the site in 2026, and that 2025 “will be about awarding the tender and moving ahead with the designs”.
Dublin City Council notes on the City Library Project website that procurement of the contractor will take around six months.
“The local community, we really want to see the project progress and to deliver something for the areas,” said Horner.
The project has been in the works for over a decade and Hornet said “inevitably, a lot of these things end up taking a little bit longer than you hope they’re going to”.
However, Horner said councillors will “push for as tight a time frame as we can manage” and the project is estimated for completion in 2027.
Meanwhile, the tender document notes that the construction value is in the region of €100 million.
Dublin City Council (DCC) said the project received preliminary approval under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund in March 2021.
The funding amount was close to €57 million for the City Library works and just over €14 million for public realm works.
DCC has spent around €2.5 million so far on security, site surveys, investigation works, and building maintenance.
Horner meanwhile told The Journal that she understands “there might be some borrowing to try and cover the rest of it”.
In relation to all borrowings of Dublin City Council, a report is put to the City Council seeking approval.
Once granted, approval is then sought from the parent Government department, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Elsewhere, Horner expressed concern that “across the board in Dublin, we struggle to deliver on these big-ticket items”.
“If you look at the Dublin 1 area, you have a lot of outstanding projects between O’Connell Street, the Hammersmith, and the Moore Street development,” said Horner.
“The Smithfield fruit and veg market is another good example of these major infrastructure projects that have the potential to revive the city considerably, and people are very excited when they see the plans.
“But I think people also feel very cynical, because we’re very used to seeing plans, but not as used to seeing delivery at this point.”
Horner said it is important that “when plans and projects are brought forward, there is a realistic implementation schedule put in place as well”.
“It’s not just this City Library project, I think there is frustration in general about how long it takes to deliver these kinds of things.
“But in general, it’s great to see something happening there and we’ll be pushing as best we can.”
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