The American Embassy Closes In On Ballsbridge Relocation
The American Embassy in Dublin is reportedly closing in on a deal to buy the former Jurys Hotel in Ballsbridge as it prepares to relocate its staff over the next decade.
American government officials are currently carrying out inspections and checks as the embassy finalises a deal with the site’s owner, Chartered Land, The Business Post reported.
Planning permission was granted in December 2022 to split the site, which houses the former Jurys Hotel and the prestigious Lansdowne Place residential development.
As a result of the decision, a fence has been erected to separate the former hotel from the residential block, while permission was also granted to cut the underground car park link between the residential development on the corner of Lansdowne Road, where Jurys Hotel was located.
The decision was a key security requirement for U.S. officials and comes after Dublin City councillors approved a U.S. Department of State request in 2022 to rezone the hotel, which closed in 2019, so it could be redeveloped for a new embassy.
It said it had outgrown its current 1960s building, opposite the hotel in Ballsbridge, with the entire planning and construction process expected to take up to 10 years.
The Ballsbridge site was sold to developer Sean Dunne in 2005 for €240M. He unveiled ambitious plans to turn Ballsbridge into the equivalent of London's Knightsbridge, but locals objected to the scale of his proposed mixed-use development.
After the property bubble burst in 2008, it was not until 2015 that developer Chartered Land acquired the site from Dunne's lender, Ulster Bank.
It developed Lansdowne Place, currently the most expensive apartment complex in the country, while in 2021 the U.S. Embassy secured the option to buy the Jurys site.
In the latest development, Embassy officials are conducting inspections and assessments to ensure the suitability of the site for their new headquarters, which forms part of a commitment to establish a long-term presence in the area and strengthen diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Ireland.
