Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Adrian Henchy, accompanied the Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, and the Director of Housing and Community Development, Paul Carroll, performed the ceremony at the site of the new centre in Racecourse Park.
The spectacular new circular building has been designed by an Integrated Design Team led by Henchion Reuter Architects and including Roughan O’Donovan Engineers, Matt O’Mahoney Associates, Walsh Associates Quantity Surveyors and Dermot Foley Landscape Architects.
The new centre will cost €10 million and is being completely funded by Fingal County Council through its Community Development and Parks and Green Infrastructure Departments. It is expected to take 18 months to complete and is being built by Vision Contracting who are currently nearing the completion of the Meakstown Community Centre in Dublin 11.
The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Adrian Henchy, said: “I’m delighted we are beginning the construction phase of what will be a truly wonderful facility that will cater for a wide range of community, recreational, education and sporting activities in the area. The local area councillors have worked alongside the community and the Council to get this project to site and everybody is really looking forward to it being delivered.”
The Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, said: “Baldoyle is an emerging town that has witnessed significant population growth since 2006. This project reflects our commitment to enhancing the lives of current and future residents of Baldoyle. We believe this community centre, when completed, will quickly become a hub for activities and services that cater to all ages and abilities.”
When constructed the Baldoyle Community Centre will prioritise sustainability and accessibility and will have a green roof and rain-garden to promote biodiversity and ecology. The circular design will minimise visual disruption to the surrounding area and there will be ample bike parking to encourage the use of sustainable transport. There will also be accessible parking and electric vehicle charging points.
The central sports hall will have three courts and the overall complex will have four multi-purpose community rooms as well as externally accessible sports rooms for use by the likes of Baldoyle United FC, Na Dubh Ghall GAA Club and Suttonians Rugby Football Club who use pitches in Racecourse Park.