Long Awaited Bullitt Dublin Anticipated for 2028 Opening
Bullitt Dublin will hopefully 2028 – after nine years in planning
LCN originally reported back in 2021 that a former bakery on Dublin’s Capel Street was to be turned into a 98-bedroom hotel after plans from Bill Wolsey’s Beannchor Group were approved by An Bord Pleanála.
However the project stalled when more than 100 skeletal remains in the preparation of the project in the Capel Street area. The former Riverdance headquarters – a Georgian building – turned out to include parts which date back to the 11th century, including a graveyard.
Beannchor, which owns and operates some of Belfast’s most well-known and popular hotels and hospitality venues, including The Merchant Hotel and Bullitt Hotel, is investing €30 million and at the historic site, creating over 200 jobs.
Bill Wolsey said at the time: “Our ambition to bring the Bullitt brand to Dublin is something that we have been planning for some time. We are passionate about the Bullitt brand and we are confident that it will prove just as popular in the Dublin market as it has already proven in Belfast.
“We plan to recognise and respect the history and architecture of the site and the heritage of the area, and in doing so will ensure Bullitt Dublin has its own unique character. The design and layout of the hotel, along with its open spaces, will help establish this.”
“We’ve been nine years in planning, because what we bought was the headquarters of Riverdance, and we thought it was a Georgian building, and it turns out bits of it come from the 11th century,” Wolsey told the Press Association.
“Within our property was a graveyard for St Mary’s Abbey and we found more than 100 bodies ranging from the 11th century up to the 15th century.
“So that’s why it’s taken so long, and then Covid got in the middle of it.
“But getting planning has been a bit of a nightmare, and we understand the historical forms of the building, but now we’re able to go ahead, we have an amazing site when you walk around, see the different buildings, and we think, and we hope, that it will be hugely successful.”
