The completion date for Printing House Square, Trinity’s new accommodation complex, has been delayed once again and the project is now due to be complete on September 30th.
Students will not be offered accommodation in Printing House Square until second semester, the project sponsor Prof Kevin O’Kelly told The University Times.
O’Kelly said that the project “lost 21 weeks” due to lockdown in Ireland and, as a result, the completion of the project has been delayed again.
A further 250 rooms were projected to become available in printing House Square by the beginning of the 2021/22 academic year.
The development has been plagued with delays and roadblocks for two years, with the coronavirus having a halting effect on its completion.
Most recently, it was forecast that the project would be completed by the end of the summer.
In November of last year, this newspaper reported that Printing House Square would likely open this spring, after the development was slowed due to contracting issues and coronavirus measures.
The project was also shrouded in controversy, when the Dublin Inquirer reported on the pay issues faced by apprentice plumbers working for GMG Mechanical, one of the companies subcontracted by main contractor Bennett Construction Limited.
The University Times subsequently revealed that some 30 workers were being illegally underpaid on the site.
When planning permission was granted for the build, it was projected to be completed in 2018. But a number of setbacks created by An Taisce and An Bord Pleanála held up the complex. An Bord Pleanála argued that the construction could compromise the existing aesthetic of Dublin city centre.
When planning permission was granted for the build, it was projected to be completed in 2018. But a number of setbacks created by An Taisce and An Bord Pleanála held up the complex, with An Bord Pleanála arguing that the construction could compromise the existing aesthetic of Dublin city centre.
When these issues were eventually resolved, the project was then given a revised completion date of August 1st, 2019, in time to house students for the 2019/20 academic year.
At the beginning of July 2019, the project was nine per cent behind schedule, and it was reported in September 2019 that the build had hit more roadblocks and was less than 50 per cent completed at the end of August, far behind where College hoped it would be.
As well as housing students, Printing House Square will provide a new home for the College Health and Disability Service.
The building will also house squash and racquetball courts and a renovated rifle range, as well as ergonomically sound seminar rooms. The student apartments will be arranged in groups of six ensuite rooms, all connected to a communal kitchen space.
