A number of objections were filed against Smyth’s proposed hotel block before it was given the all-clear by the council. Heritage group An Taisce said the new development would be “an obtrusive and ungainly new element in the view from the Ha’penny Bridge” and requested the submitted plans be revised. Galway born Smyth, who is leading the hotel development plan, was previously one of Ireland’s richest men and before the recession had property assets worth over €250 million. However, state bad bank Nama seized control of a number of his assets during the recession, including 400 of his paintings and his Ailesbury Road home in Dublin 4. Smyth exited Nama in 2013. Fitzwilliam Finance Partners, an investment company led by Smyth, bought €140 million worth of Arnotts’ loans in 2013 in a move that was reported to be backed by British retailer Selfridges. Smyth previously revealed plans to build a ‘creative quarter’ on the northside of the River Liffey in the area around Arnotts. Smyth said his rejuvenation plan for Dublin’s north inner city involved opening a number of cafés and restaurants along Liffey Street.
The green light for the nine-storey hotel follows a matter of weeks after a similar large-scale project was approved for the old site of Ned’s pub in Dublin city centre. Tetrarch Capital, the owner of the Citywest Hotel, got permission to build an eight-storey budget 595-unit hotel from An Bord Pleanála after a complaint lodged about the scale of the development was overruled by the planning board. The projects come amid an acute shortage of tourist accommodation in Dublin, with figures compiled by hospitality analytics firm STR Global showing that the Irish capital had an occupancy rate of more than 86% in April.