New €43m swimming pool approved to replace leisure centre being demolished for MetroLink

Transport Infrastructure Ireland has also agreed a reported €22 million deal to buy 40 apartments in the College Gate complex above the Markievicz pool. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times Plans have been approved for a €43 million public swimming pool to replace the Markievicz leisure centre on Dublin's Townsend Street, which is slated for demolition for the MetroLink rail line. The new leisure complex in Ringsend will be fully funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and is the latest in a series of large property deals undertaken by the project's developer. The Government is due to decide this month whether to allow TII to seek bids to build the 19km rail line based on new cost estimates completed earlier this year. The estimates, submitted as part of the MetroLink business case, have not yet been published but are expected to range from around €14 billion to €17.5 billion. The last published estimates, drawn up in advance of the planning application for the line four years ago, calculated €9.5 billion as the midpoint of a 'credible' cost range of between €7.16 billion and €12.25 billion. TII expects it will have spent almost €750 million on MetroLink by the end of this year, before construction begins on the line from Swords in north Co Dublin to Charlemont on the south side. The spend includes several large property deals. UK property group Hammerson sold more than 1 hectare (2.5 acres) of land on O'Connell Street to TII in July as part of a €80.7 million divestment of what the company said were 'non-core' assets. TII would not reveal the total cost of the purchase. A MetroLink station is planned for underneath the former Carlton cinema on O'Connell Street. In a deal reached last December, TII agreed to buy a row of houses at Dartmouth Square in Ranelagh, beside the Charlemont MetroLink terminus, for a combined total of more than €30 million. It has also agreed a reported €22 million deal to buy 40 apartments in the College Gate complex above the Markievicz pool. The full block of 70 apartments is scheduled for demolition as part of the construction of the Tara Street MetroLink station and further apartment acquisitions are expected. City councillors on Monday night approved the plans for the 25m six-lane swimming pool at Irishtown Stadium in Ringsend, more than 2.5km away from the Townsend Street site. The existing Irishtown Sports and Fitness Centre, wholly-owned by the council, will be demolished to make way for a new facility featuring a second training pool, sauna and steam rooms. Councillors were told the project was being funded by TII, with construction expected to begin in the third quarter of next year and to be completed in the third quarter of 2029, project manager Don Daly told councillors. 'Importantly, the new leisure centre is planned to be fully operational in advance of the closure of the current Markievicz Centre, ensuring continuity of service for users,' the planning report presented to councillors said. The timeline indicates construction of the Tara Street station will not progress before late 2029. If the Cabinet approves the new business case for MetroLink, TII will be permitted to issue tenders to build and operate the line. It is at this point the cost range of the project will be revealed. However, the final cost of MetroLink will not be known until the preferred bidders are selected. TII has advertised for expressions of interest in advance of approval to go to tender. It published notices last February for the tunnelling and excavation works, with a combined value of up to €7.9 billion. In May, it sought expressions of interest to supply, operate and maintain the metro, valued at up to €7.3 billion. A series of enabling works contracts have been advertised with a combined value of €1.88 billion. A 'programme delivery partner', to provide various consultancy services and contract management, has been advertised for with a value of €550 million. TII stresses that these are maximum contract values and said it expected the competitive tender process to result in lower contract bids.