ESB to develop efficient HQ

ESB has announced proposals to redevelop its new headquarters on Fitzwilliam Street, with a view to seeking planning permission in spring next year.

The company said that the building, parts of which were constructed in the 1950s, is “very inefficient and is expensive to maintain”. It said the redevelopment of the site offers the best longterm solution, both from an architectural and business perspective.

ESB stressed that the project will be self-financing through energy and maintenance savings, lease income and savings on avoided rental costs in other buildings and will not affect the price of electricity or gas for customers.

After careful consideration of the Georgian streetscape, the proposal is to deliver a building that is respectful to its history, sensitive to its surroundings and representative of its own time. The building will showcase innovative sustainable technologies, which will reduce carbon emissions and result in substantial energy savings. These sustainable initiatives incorporated in the proposed design will reduce the cost to run the building by 50 per cent.

The new building will double existing capacity and will accommodate an additional 1,400 workspaces. ESB will be submitting a planning application in March 2014, with plans to starting construction by 2016.