The IDA has urged Dublin City Council to give Johnny Ronan approval to increase the floor area of his planned Salesforce Tower by almost a quarter, allowing for 1,000 additional staff to be accommodated.
Last month, Salesforce confirmed plans to create 1,500 jobs in the docklands over the next five years. The employees are to be located in Salesforce Tower Dublin which comprises four inter-connected buildings on the North Wall.
Mr Ronan's Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE) has said the new campus represents the largest-ever single office letting in the State.The firm has now lodged plans to extend the scale of floor area by 23 per cent by raising the height of the block from nine to 11 storeys. Construction is ongoing on the original plan.
In a submission to Dublin City Council, the IDA's head of property, Damien Kilgannon, said planning permission for the Ronan plan would "represent a significant early win for Dublin" in the National Planning Framework and Project Ireland 2040.
Mr Kilgannon said the grant of permission would “also enable Salesforce to realise its ambitious growth for the benefit of Dublin and Ireland”.
He said Salesforce had asked Mr Ronan's Spencer Place Ltd to seek the planning permission for the additional 100,000sq ft of office space "to accommodate further growth in Dublin". The development now proposed would "provide capacity to add a further circa 1,000 employees at Spencer Dock", Mr Kilgannon said.
Height guidelines
Mr Ronan’s firm lodged the application after the Government’s publication in December of new building height guidelines in urban areas, which found increased height is significant in making best use of such sites.
Mr Kilgannon said the successful implementation of the 2018 guidelines would “ensure the timely delivery of height and density in the most appropriate locations”.
Salesforce's boss in Ireland, Dave Dempsey, has also written to the council to express support for the planning application.
Salesforce is due to take possession of the completed buildings in the fourth quarter of next year and Mr Dempsey said the additional height would “provide a positive contribution and variety to the Dublin skyline and enable employment growth and investment in the community”.
However, the plan is also facing opposition, with a small number of local residents voicing their opposition to the additional office space.
A decision is due on the application later this month.
