THE Belfast-based Beannchor Group has been granted planning approval to build its first hotel in Dublin.
The €30 million (£25.6m) project will redevelop the Victorian-era Boland’s bakery and biscuit factory off Dublin’s Capel Street into an eight-storey 98-bedroom hotel.
The group, headed by Bill Wolsey, said the hotel will create around 200 jobs.
The green light by the Republic’s independent planning body An Bord Pleanála, comes three years after Beannchor’s subsidiary Cathedral Leisure first submitted its planning application and four years after it bought the historic site, which is located around 700 metres from O’Connell Street.
The hospitality group, which owns the Merchant Hotel in Belfast, will name its latest hotel Bullitt Dublin. The group already operates a Bullitt Hotel in Belfast’s Chapel Lane.
Construction work on the hotel will not proceed until archaeological surveys have been completed at the site.
Beannchor boss Bill Wolsey said that bringing the Bullitt brand to Dublin has been a long-held ambition.
“We are passionate about the Bullitt brand and we are confident that it will prove just as popular in the Dublin market as it has already proven in Belfast,” he said.
“We plan to recognise and respect the history and architecture of the site and the heritage of the area, and in doing so will ensure Bullitt Dublin has its own unique character. The design and layout of the hotel, along with its open spaces, will help establish this.
“This project represents a €30 million investment for Beannchor, providing a significant economic boost to this area of the city as well as creating 200 new full-time and part-time roles.
“We hope to be opening our doors to our first guests in the autumn of 2023.”
