Sod turned on Grangegorman project

THE sod was turned on a new 52,000 sq mt building project for DIT on the Grangegorman campus last week.

The development is expected to create at least 1,000 construction jobs over the lifetime of the project, which will see new Central and East Quads built.

The Central Quad will accommodate academic activities and facilities for a total of ten schools from the College of Sciences & Health, College of Engineering & Built Environment and the College of Arts & Tourism.

The East Quad will host the majority of academic activities and facilities required for the College of Arts & Tourism that currently consists of six schools, four of which will be accommodated within the new building.

Completion of the flagship buildings will mark a huge step forward in the consolidation of DIT on the Grangegorman campus.

It will also add to the changing landscape of the new Grangegorman urban quarter, which already includes the Phoenix Care Centre, the Grangegorman Primary Care Centre, the Greenway Hub, new playing pitches, a playground and a walking/jogging track.

The sod was turned at an official ceremony attended by Minister for Education, Richard Bruton, Minister for Finance and Dublin Central TD, Paschal Donohoe and Minister of State for Higher Education, Mary Mitchell O’Connor.

“The project is being funded by the Government under Project Ireland 2040,” Minister Bruton said.

“Under the Government’s plan, the higher education sector will see a very significant ramping up of investment in higher education infrastructure – from approximately €800 million over the past decade to €2.2 billion over the coming decade. This underlines the government’s commitment to investing in higher education.”

More than 10,000 students and 600 staff will be accommodated by the new development and Chief Executive Officer of the Grangegorman Development Agency (GDA) said breaking ground on the project was “hugely important”.

“Not only does it mean that we are a step closer to half of DIT moving to Grangegorman but it allows the agency to move forward with other aspects of the overall development,” he explained.

Professor Norton of Dublin Institute of Technology said it took a huge amount of work by many people to reach what he described as “a major milestone for DIT”. 

“In two years’ time, over 10,000 students and 600 members of staff will be based on this fantastic city-centre campus, including musicians and artists, scientists and engineers, culinary artists and event managers,” he said.

“They will have the opportunity to interact with one another, sharing ideas, playing sport, building communities.

“The vision is for this campus to be integrated in Dublin’s historic city centre, culturally and economically, bringing new life and opportunity. 

“We are grateful to so many supporters and colleagues for coming today to mark the beginning of this exciting development.”

The contract for the project has been entered into with Eriugena consortium, which includes Macquarie Capital Group Ltd., Irish Construction Company John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Ltd., FCC Construction (Ireland) Ltd. and Sodexo Ireland Ltd.

The National Development Finance Agency (NDFA), which was responsible for the procurement of the project on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills, will also monitor the construction phase.