Council gives Dunne permission to build offices on Hume House site

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Dublin City Council has given developer Séan Dunne the green light to rebuild Hume House, one of a number of high-profile Ballsbridge properties he bought in 2005. Mr Dunne acquired Hume House from Irish Life when he swapped a docklands property, Riverside IV, which now houses law firm Matheson Ormsby Prentice (MOP), for the Ballsbridge office block in 2005. He is proposing to demolish the existing structure and build a new series of office blocks, designed by HKR Architects, of between six and eight storeys on the site.

A subsidiary of his group, Mountbrook, made the application last year, and yesterday, Dublin City Council granted it planning permission.

The building was at the centre of a High Court dispute between the developer and property consultants, CB Richard Ellis, last year. CB Richard Ellis sought the payment of €1.5 million fees for its role in deal between Mr Dunne and Irish Life. However, Mr Dunne counterclaimed for €35 million, arguing that, while the property swap was valued at €135 million, the next nearest actual bid was €102 million, and the actual value at the time was between €95 million and €100 million. The parties subsequently settled the case.

The Irish Times