Construction BUSINESS

A €27.5m state-of-the-art building is planned for Kevin Street Garda Station for 2017 – a move which will see a 13th century property become vacant.Kevin Street Garda Station currently calls an eight-century-old protected structure home: the Palace of St Sepulchre which was the residence of the Archbishop of Dublin for six centuries.

A massive overhaul is currently under way for the divisional headquarters with a 6,840 square-metre premises planned on an adjacent site at Bride Street.

According to current plans seen by the Herald, there will be a two-storey and five-storey building, both with flat roofs, built on Bride Street.

atrium

A landscaped roof terrace and a glazed atrium connecting the two buildings is also planned, along with a two-storey basement car-park.

The two-phase project is already at an advanced stage, with phase one – ground works – already complete.

Garda Commissioner Noirin O’Sullivan told the Herald that once the new station is finished she hopes it will become a beacon of modern, “progressive policing” in Ireland.

However, concerns have been raised about what will happen to the 13th century building once the new station is open.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) is overseeing the entire project. The OPW, “has recently opened up a dialogue with interested parties in order to explore a future use for the premises following the completion of the new divisional garda station,” said the spokeswoman.

On March 20, a meeting arranged by the OPW on the matter was held in Dublin Castle and attended by Dublin City Council (DCC) assistant CEO Brendan Kenny and representatives from bodies like An Taisce, Failte Ireland and Dublin Civic Trust.

Grahan Hickey of Dublin Civic Trust believes a city museum would be a perfect fit for the old building when it is vacated. “One obvious use is a proper Dublin city museum, which has been a gaping absence in the city since the small Civic Museum closed on South William Street over a decade ago,” Mr Hickey said.

Green Party councillor Ciaran Cuffe hopes that the works will lead to improved pedestrian infrastructure in the area.