Problems
Developers Dunloe Ewart (subsequently taken over by Liam Carroll) had secured planning permission in 2000 for a 100-metre building on a site next to that of the U2 tower. The DDDA objected to this in 2005 as it wanted the U2 tower to be an isolated landmark. Dublin City Council refused to extend planning permission on Carroll's undeveloped site after it expired. As of September 2007, Carroll was appealing this in the Commercial Court. Some residents of Ringsend have accused the DDDA of "arrogance", claiming that extra revenue from two towers could fund social housing schemes in nearby areas. Others expressed discontent at the presence of a skyscraper in a historically low-rise area.
Concerns were expressed about a possible conflict of interest for U2 in the building tender process, when it emerged that the band were joint backers of Geranger. After the original BCDH bid's success, it was pointed out that U2 manager Paul McGuinness is the brother-in-law of BCDH architect Felim Dunne.
The impact of the 2007 Subprime mortgage financial crisis brought doubts on the viability of the BCDH design. Journalists speculated that the extra engineering expense of the complicated "twisting tower" design was excessive, and that an alternative design would be used instead. Construction tenders were able to submit price quotations for both the original BCDH design and an alternative of their own choosing. There has been speculation that lawsuits may be taken, by BCDH and by those builders who bid based solely on the BCDH design, that the DDDA was not empowered to scrap the original design.
Delays at all stages of the design and planning phases have been commented upon. The estimated cost and completion date moved from €55m and early 2008 in September 2006 to €200m and late 2011 in October 2007.
Read more about this topic: U2 Tower
Famous quotes containing the word problems:
“There is an enormous chasm between the relatively rich and powerful people who make decisions in government, business, and finance and our poorer neighbors who must depend on these decisions to alleviate the problems caused by their lack of power and influence.”
—Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.)
“If when a businessman speaks of minority employment, or air pollution, or poverty, he speaks in the language of a certified public accountant analyzing a corporate balance sheet, who is to know that he understands the human problems behind the statistical ones? If the businessman would stop talking like a computer printout or a page from the corporate annual report, other people would stop thinking he had a cash register for a heart. It is as simple as that—but that isn’t simple.”
—Louis B. Lundborg (1906–1981)
“...I have wanted to believe people could make their dreams come true ... that problems could be solved. However, this is a national illness. As Americans, we believe all problems can be solved, that all questions have answers.”
—Kristin Hunter (b. 1931)