The long awaited redevelopment of a six acre plot in Dublin's north inner city is expected to finally begin.
Architects have been appointed to draw up plans for the old Carlton cinema site on O'Connell Street, that will include a new street for pedestrians, shops, offices, apartments and a hotel.
They will join a London-based firm previously brought in to prepare a planning application.
The Dublin Central scheme, which site frontage to Upper O'Connell Street, Parnell Street, Moore Street and Henry Street will also have an "historical trail" to commemorate 1916 Rising events in the area and an open, street-based design that will form a new city quarter.
Plans for the north inner city area have long being discussed but have never managed to get off the ground.
A planning application is expected to be submitted during the first half of next year.
Stephen Troy owns a butchers on Moore Street. He's happy something will finally be done;#
"It's after been a very long haul. The dereliction of the site and the dereliction of the national monument of Moore Street has contributed to higher levels of anti-social behaviour in the area" he said.
"Our own business is trading over a hundred years on Moore Street and we struggled there for the last five years as well."
Stephen Troy says the disruption created during the construction phase is one major concern;
"From experience with the Luas, it definitely destroys business...to date our business hasn't picked up at the completion of the Luas, we were doing much better before the Luas project."
