Businessman Dermot Desmond has described a proposed high-rise development on the site of the former veterinary college in Ballsbridge as "an incongruous spike" in a sea of Victorian architecture and said the entire justification for such high-rise buildings seemed to be "the maximisation of profit".
Mr Desmond, who lives on Ailesbury Road, Ballsbridge, made the comments in a submission to An Bord Pleanála's oral hearing on the development, which opened at the RDS yesterday.
The financier was not present at the hearing but his submission was circulated to all parties.
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D4 high-rises profit-driven, says Desmond
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The IFSC now seems to be more flats than offices. The few shops are shabby. It is hardly a living city. A ghost town at the weekend.
The project is a brilliant financial success, a monument to those two chequered heroes, Charlie Haughey and Dermot Desmond. It has raised plenty of revenue, but TD Tony Gregory tells me later that it has totally failed to integrate with the nearby Sheriff Street community.
There are 1,300 flats in the centre and no community spirit. Nearly all the flats are owned by outsiders who have rented them

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