Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne has announced that €7 million in funding has been awarded to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council for the sustainable adaptive reuse of No. 9 Georges Place and Wash House, Dun Laoghaire through THRIVE – the Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme.
The project will focus on the renovation and adaptive reuse of two vacant protected structures located at the corner of George’s Place and Kelly’s Avenue, Dún Laoghaire. No. 9 George’s Place, a three-storey building constructed in 1831 as a hotel and the detached, two-storey red-brick Wash House, built in 1915, will be transformed into a vibrant Centre for Creative Lifelong Learning.
The adaptive reuse of these vacant protected structures will retain their unique character while meeting the needs of a modern, inclusive learning environment and represents a major step forward in the revitalisation of Dún Laoghaire’s town centre. The regeneration will include a new three storey over lower ground floor extension to accommodate accessibility and the new biodiverse courtyard between the buildings will offer an opportunity to provide a visual educational demonstration of nature-based solutions for drainage, reinforcing the values of the New European Bauhaus.
The project will enhance the public realm, improve accessibility and energy efficiency and in addition preserve and celebrate the architectural heritage of the site. The centre will offer studio spaces, teaching rooms, multi-purpose areas, and social spaces for community engagement. It will host programmes such as animation and filmmaking and build connections with the planned primary school at the adjacent former Fire Station. The aim is to breathe new life into these historic spaces, creating a hub for creative learning that preserves the heritage of the site while providing accessible, innovative facilities for education and community use.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council received THRIVE Strand 1 funding to carry out an Integrated Urban Study that would identify vacant heritage buildings, propose appropriate future uses and develop the design for the buildings to Part 8 Planning Stage. This study titled “Reimagining George's Place – Revitalising through Reuse” focused on the adaptive reuse of No. 9 George’s Place and the former Wash House. The study incorporated extensive public engagement, including an online survey and drop-in workshops held in October 2024.
These consultations helped shape the vision for the buildings’ future use and the outcome of the study was a proposal for a Centre for Creative Lifelong Learning, which reflects the core values of the New European Bauhaus – sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusion – and integrates community feedback into the final design. DLR Architects Department developed the design to Part 8 planning stage and following approval of Part 8 planning at the Council meeting earlier this year, the Strand 2 application for capital works funding was submitted. The successful award of €7 million Strand 2 funding will enable the transformation of these significant heritage buildings into a vibrant, inclusive space for lifelong learning and community engagement.
This project is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the ERDF Southern, Eastern & Midland Regional Programme 2021–2027, and aligns with the Town Centre First Framework, promoting a citizen-centred, community-led approach to urban regeneration.
THRIVE incorporates the core values of the New European Bauhaus - sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusion. The scheme promotes a citizen-centred community-led approach to planning, design and project selection under the Town Centre First Framework. THRIVE is targeted at larger urban settlements - cities, regional growth centres and key towns - and is focused on publicly owned heritage buildings. Heritage buildings under the scheme are classified as structures that form part of the architectural heritage and have unique architectural, historical, archaeological or artistic qualities, or are linked to the cultural and economic history of a place.
Strand 1 applications relate to:
- integrated urban strategies and project pipeline development, including for the development and enhancement of integrated urban strategies,
- identification of projects that promote the conservation and adaptive reuse of our built heritage stock while reducing vacancy and dereliction in town centres,
- prioritisation, development and specification of project proposals to create a pipeline of investment-ready built heritage refurbishments, renovation and adaptive reuse projects.
Strand 2 applications relate to:
- Renovation and adaptive reuse of vacant or derelict heritage buildings.
- Delivery of selected pilot and pathfinder projects that will have a positive and transformative impact on town centre vacancy and dereliction and that will inform the approach for other towns at earlier stages in the process.
This THRIVE – Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme project is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the ERDF Southern, Eastern & Midland Regional Programme 2021-2027.
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