Plans to build the tallest building in Ireland, with a new recording studio for the band atop the structure, have been suspended because of country’s property slump and slide into recession.

The Dublin Docklands Development Authority says it remains committed to building the long-planned U2 Tower, but announced Friday that a souring economy at home and abroad means the project must be shelved. It hopes to reopen negotiations with potential developers within 12 months.

In 2007, the band helped unveil the design by the Norman Foster. The British architect envisioned a 120-meter (400-foot) triangular tower on the south bank of Dublin’s River Liffey with a rooftop, egg-shaped pod housing U2’s new recording studios.

The Irish property market saw phenominal growth during the past decade, but what went up has come down hard. The dramatic drop in construction coupled with global financial crisis made Ireland particulary vulnerable; it is the first euro zone country to enter recession this year.