Plans by the US embassy to move into the former Jury's Hotel site in Ballsbridge have been backed by local city councillors.
The embassy needs to double the size of its workforce to 400, a meeting of Dublin City Council's South East area committee heard.
The existing embassy is situated less than 100 metres from the proposed new location at the 400-bed Ballsbridge Hotel site and it will be used as an annexe for a transition period of up to 10 years, council Planning Officer John O'Hara told the meeting.
Extra space is needed for diplomatic and trade operations which promote US investment in Ireland totalling $160 billion, he said.
Mr O'Hara said the US is upgrading its embassies around the world and a new embassy was opened in London in 2017.
Councillors voted to write to the US embassy asking for the original modern-era office building which is now 55 years old to be made a protected structure.
The move requires a rezoning for the hotel site from Z1 residential to Z6 which allows employment and there will now be a four-week public consultation before it comes to a full council meeting, possibly in May.
The Ballsbridge Hotel site is currently owned by Gerry O'Reilly's Chartered Land and is reported to be worth around €150m.
It was part of the site once owned by developer Sean Dunne who bought it for €240m before the recession and who unsuccessfully applied for planning permission for a high density luxury development to include a 37-storey tower.
