*The developers that bought the old Central Bank HQ in Dublin plan to alter the building’s roof in a €75 million redevelopment.

US property player Hines and its Hong Kong-based partner, Peterson, are seeking permission from Dublin City Council to put a 300-seat rooftop restaurant in the building.

The plans involve changing its roof to accommodate what will be a glass-covered restaurant with 360-degree views over the city centre.

Ironically, the work will bring the building closer to what its designer, architect Sam Stephenson, originally intended.

He was forced to redraw his plans for the structure when it emerged that they exceeded the height laid down in the original permission granted for the building in the 1970s.

Copper cladding

Construction was delayed for nine months while Mr Stephenson reworked his plans. When it was finished, the structure’s steel frame was left exposed on the roof until the Central Bank covered it with copper cladding 10 years later.

Hines and Peterson want to replace this with a two-storey glazed structure designed by Tom Gray, an Irish architect based in Paris. Dublin firm Henry J Lyons is responsible for the overall project.

The plan, called Central Plaza, is seeking permission to redevelop the building to house offices, cafes at the building’s base and the extension of the square at its front.

It also includes space to house shops in nearby premises along Dame Street and College Green,which Hines and Peterson acquired with the Central Bank earlier this year.

* This story was edited on August 9th