Developers bid to turn Phibsborough Shopping Centre into a co-living space

Developers are seeking to develop a co-living space on the site of Phibsborough Shopping Centre.  Developers have submitted an application An Bord Pleanala to turn Phibsborough Shopping Centre into a co-living space, The Irish Times reports. Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien announced a de facto ban on such co-living developments in Ireland in November last year. However, the ban was not signed into law until December 22. In the weeks in between, MM Capital submitted an application to An Bord Pleanála for a co-living scheme with 321 single rooms. The company that owns Phibsborough Shopping Centre was granted permission for a €50 million redevelopment of the site two years ago. The plan was to turn the site into student accommodation consisting of 341 accommodation spaces, reportedly planned to be seven stories tall. The majority of rooms would be 18sq metres with four kitchen and living areas on each floor. A dispute arose with one of the centres main tenants, Tesco, which delayed the work from going ahead. MM Capital does not own the unit occupied by Tesco and the plans would not result in the demolition of the office tower which was built in 1967. READ NEXT: Several other Dublin restaurants and cafes delay reopening due to rising number of cases