State transport developer Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has an impressive record of making legal challenges go away by throwing money at the problem. A case in point was its deal to purchase a row of houses last December at Dartmouth Square in Ranelagh, Dublin, for a combined total of more than €30 million.MetroLink, the 19km railway line from Swords, north Dublin, to Charlemont, close to Ranelagh in south Dublin, serving Dublin Airport, was granted permission last September, but the project was thrown into jeopardy when the Dartmouth Square residents took a legal challenge to its development.The challenge was swiftly withdrawn after TII agreed to purchase the homes at about €3 million apiece.TII has this week completed a property deal that dwarfs its Ranelagh house buying spree and is the single biggest MetroLink property acquisition to date: the purchase of the controversial former “Carlton Site” from UK property group Hammerson.Hammerson has owned a 5.5 acre plot, which runs from O’Connell Street to Moore Street, since 2016. The site already had planning permission for a shopping centre, but Hammerson decided to made a fresh application for a retail, office and residential scheme. It secured planning permission, but this was appealed to the High Court by the Moore Street Preservation Trust, a group involving a number relatives of those involved in the 1916 Rising, and Sinn Féin. These judicial review proceedings, which allege interference with and demolition of protected structures in the area, are ongoing.Hammerson on Wednesday said it had sold assets of £69 million (€80.7m), including Dublin central lands, to TII. The latter would not confirm how much it had spent on the deal, saying it was commercially sensitive. However, it said it had acquired more than 2.5 acres of O’Connell Street road frontage, surrounding the former Carlton cinema, where an underground station is planned.This could be hailed as another bold, strategic property deal which removes obstacles to the development of MetroLink, arguably the most important infrastructure project in the State.However, in this case, there were no legal or planning obstacles to the development of the line at this site. TII had already secured planning permission for the station underneath the Carlton site and this had not been contested by Hammerson. Indeed Hammerson had repeatedly voiced its support for the metro project.The judicial review proceedings against the Hammerson scheme relate to the Moore Street side of the development, lands which have not been included in the TII purchase.TII argues the purchase of the O’Connell Street lands removes the requirement for a compulsory purchase process for the construction of the station, saving time and money. However, any site required for this work could arguably have been considerably smaller, and therefore cheaper, than the 2.5 acres acquired.Asked why it had not bought the full 5.5 acre site, including Moore Street, TII said it had only had a mandate to build MetroLink and was “not a property developer”. Yet there will be considerable property available for development after the station is built, encompassing most of the west side of Upper O’Connell Street.This, TII said, will not be developed using Hammerson’s plans, but will be subject to a new masterplanning process in collaboration with other State bodies, including the new Dublin Task Force, which has a mandate to revitalise the north inner city, and the Land Development Agency (LDA) The Moore Street Preservation Trust argues the sale of part of the Hammerson site, which splits both the site and its associated planning permissions, renders the Hammerson plan null and void. “Today’s news is welcome. The State must now go on to complete the job so the 1916 Historic Cultural Quarter can become a reality,” it said.TII won’t take on this task, so it remains unknown if the new taskforce will.