Major Grangegorman works set to begin

LARGE-SCALE construction is set to start again in Grangegorman following last week’s announcement that a PPP agreement has been signed for work on the new Central and East Quads.

The two new buildings will provide a home to over 10,000 DIT students – more than half of all students studying there.

The Quads are being constructed by the Eriugena Consortium, which includes Irish construction company John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Ltd. and Spanish construction company FCC Construction (Ireland) Ltd.

The project is expected to generate between  500 and 1,300 on site jobs every month.

The East Quad will be a Cultural Hub not only for the Grangegorman campus but also for the city. 

It will be accessed directly via the Broadstone Gate and the Broadstone DIT Luas stop, which will be one of the primary entry points to the campus. 

It will be home to four Schools currently spread across DIT campuses in Aungier Street, Kevin Street, Rathmines and Grangegorman.

The Central Quad situated in the heart of the Granggorman campus will become the new home to the College of Sciences and Health, as well as the Schools of Culinary Arts and Food Technology, and of Hospitality Management and Tourism.

Chief Executive Officer of the Grangegorman Development Agency Ger Casey said he was delighted to see the project get underway.

“It has come about through a lot of hard work from our colleagues in the Department of Education and Skills, the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA), and DIT as well as significant support from the European Investment Bank.” he added.

“We are really looking forward to working with everyone involved to ensure the buildings are complete and ready for DIT on schedule.”

President of DIT, Professor Brian Norton, said the institute had been working towards this stage of the development for quite some time.

"The announcement is of great significance for current and future DIT students, ensuring they can look forward to the best possible educational experience,” he added.

“The development of the Grangegorman campus has the power to add new life and opportunity – culturally and economically – in the heart of Dublin City.”

Professor Norton said the development will lead to the consolidation of DIT in Grangegorman within the next four years.

It will also play a significant role in the creation of Ireland’s first Technological University with DIT partners IT Blanchardstown and IT Tallaght. 

“We can now prepare in earnest for this next phase, with our students and colleagues in Sciences and Health, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Arts and Tourism getting ready to move to Grangegorman in time for September 2020,” Prof Norton said.

The announcement of the PPP was made jointly by Minister for Education and Skills Richard Bruton, Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, and Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor.

“This represents a very significant step forward in realising the Government’s ambitions for the Grangegorman development and in delivering a consolidated, state of the art campus for DIT,” said Minister Bruton.

“This significant investment in higher education infrastructure will also advance Ireland’s ambitions to provide the best education and training service in Europe by 2026.”

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe who is also a local Dublin Central TD said the positive impact the Grangegorman development was having on the surrounding areas of the inner city was already “very evident”.

“This announcement represents a significant step forward in realising the full potential of the Grangegorman site as a hub for high quality education and health facilities, as well as for community activity,” he continued.

“The realisation of this development on a previously underutilised brownfield site in the heart of Dublin is very much aligned with the ambitions of the National Planning Framework and National Development Plan to deliver a more compact urban growth.

“I would particularly like to acknowledge the collaboration of the project funders.

“This represents the latest in a series of major and very welcome investments by the EIB in the education sector in Ireland.

“This includes close to €700 million in loans directly to the university sector across the last decade, as well as investments of nearly €500 million in school building programmes. The Grangegorman project will be the fourth PPP in the education sector to benefit from EIB support.”

The GDA is now aiming to keep the Grangegorman project progressing with the design of the new Academic Hub and the HSE Residential Care Neighbourhood, as well as the submission of a planning application for the new Dublin 7 Educate Together School on the site.