12th April (Issue 342)
Welcome to the Origin Capital Weekly Irish Property Review. This update is designed to provide you with a full recap of the latest property news from the media over the last seven days.
MIXED-USE
Johnson’s Place, Dublin 2 Located within a short walk of St Stephen’s Green and Grafton Street, Textile House on Dublin’s Johnson’s Place is being offered to the market by agent Colliers at a guide price of €6.5m. Measuring 0.148 acres, Textile House currently comprises a two-storey commercial building extending to a total floor area of 11,398 sq. ft. The building is occupied by a mix of tenants with three vacant retail units fronting Johnson’s Place and two two-storey cafe/restaurant units opening on to Clarendon Market. There are three office suites on the first floor with access on to Johnson’s Place. While the occupied units are currently producing a total rental income of €192.1k pa, the selling agent believes up to €511k pa could be achieved. The entire site is zoned Objective “Z5”, the aim of which is “to consolidate and facilitate the development of the central area, and to identify, reinforce, strengthen and protect its civic design, character and dignity”. The Irish Times, 6th April
OFFICE
Fenian Street, Dublin 2 Hibernia Reit has completed the letting of the lower ground floor (2,429 sq. ft.) to French financial services company BGC at 2 Cumberland Place. BGC was represented in its negotiations by Knight Frank. The second floor, extending to 8,785 sq. ft., is reserved which leaves the first floor as the last remaining available floor extending to 8,785 sq. ft. Having acquired the former Cumberland House for €49m in 2015, Hibernia Reit increased the overall office accommodation by 58,000 sq. ft. to 190,000 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 6th April
Fitzwilliam Lane, Dublin 2 Finnegan Menton is quoting a rent of €38 per sq. ft. (€260k pa) for the offices at 61-62 Fitzwilliam Lane in Dublin 2. Located at the heart of the city’s traditional central business district, the subject property comprises a self-contained mews building extending to 6,085 sq. ft. along with six to eight parking spaces that are also being made available to rent for €3.5k per space pa. The office accommodation comes to the market following the completion of a thorough refurbishment. The Irish Times, 6th April
Riverside 2 and Hatch Street, Dublin City Centre Iput has added another two offices to its expanding flexible workspace business in Dublin. After successfully letting its first location at Pearse Street, the platform – called Making it Work – has been supplemented by another 13,400 sq. ft. Iput is expected to scale Making it Work up to c. 5% of its 2.4m sq. ft. estate over the next few years. The latest additions include a 10,200 sq. ft. penthouse floor at Riverside 2, a 73,500 sq. ft. building on Dublin’s south docks, and 3,200 sq. ft. at Styne House on Hatch Street. React News, 7thApril
Sandyford, Dublin 18 Mastercard is considering another major expansion to its new Sandyford campus, according to senior executives. It would bring the financial company’s footprint in Dublin to over 2,000 people from its current headcount of 975. The payments firm officially opened its new campus at One South County, developed by former Trintech founder, Cyril McGuire. While it has already committed to space in the adjacent 104,410 sq. ft. Two South County building, currently under construction, it will now also consider leasing the 45,208 sq. ft. Three South County building next to it. The Irish Independent, 8th April
STUDENT ACCOMMODATION
PBSA, Dublin and Galway Ares Management and Generation Partners have completed the purchase of a student accommodation portfolio in Ireland for c. €150m. The assets will be added to a PBSA platform branded Here! that currently sits over the joint venture’s three existing operational assets in Cardiff, Exeter, and Glasgow. Located within Dublin and Galway, the three buildings comprise 664 beds and are fully occupied for 2021/22 and reside within strong micro locations for student accommodation. US investment fund Bain Capital sold the collection of assets and Cushman & Wakefield advised on the sale, which was dubbed Project Ruby. The €150m acquisition price delivers a NIY of c. 5%. React News, 11th April
HEALTHCARE / NURSING HOME
Co Louth, Co Meath and Co Cork Aedifica, a Belgian nursing home investor, has grown its spending in Ireland to c. €240m with the purchase of another three nursing homes. The company has bought three newly built facilities at Dundalk in Co Louth, Duleek in Co Meath, and Riverstick in Co Cork for €57m. The homes were developed by Delsk, a Chinese investment group that has raised money from high-net-worth Chinese nationals under the immigrant investment programme. Construction of the nursing homes was completed over the past few months and will almost double the number of beds in the Aedifica portfolio. The Sunday Times, 10th April
HOSPITALITY
Amiens Street, Dublin 1 A hotel development site on Amiens Street is being offered to the market by Knight Frank at a guide price of €12m. The subject site extends to 0.4 acres and has full planning permission for a seven-storey hotel comprising 177 bedrooms. There are also extensive bar and restaurant facilities provided for at ground-floor level. The site is zoned Objective Z5 under the Dublin City Council Development Plan 2016-2022. This designation is set to be maintained under the draft development plan for 2022-2028. The Irish Times, 6th April
Parnell Street, Dublin 1 A Tristan Capital Partners fund has acquired a majority shareholding in Raag Hotels Limited – which owns 10 Point A hotels in the UK and Ireland, including the Point A Hotel on Parnell Street in Dublin city centre – in a €500m deal. The Point A portfolio comprises 1,520 rooms, with 80% of its value in London. Under the new partnership, Queensway, which remains a minority partner, will co-invest and act as hotel operator, asset manager and development partner for future sites. The shareholders have committed significant additional equity to fund the next phase of growth. The team is assessing opportunities to increase footprint in the Irish market. The Irish Independent, 7th April
RETAIL
Bridge St, Tralee The former Dunnes Stores premises on Bridge Street in Tralee town centre has been sold to an unidentified buyer. Real estate agents Property Partners Daly Ó Sé have confirmed that the sale of the long vacant property has been agreed. Neither the price or the identity of the buyer have been revealed as yet. Once one of the town centre’s busiest shops the landmark town centre property has now been vacant for well over a decade. In recent years several retail chains – including Danish furniture chain Jysk – had held talks with the Irish supermarket chain with a view to renting the extensive town centre retail unit. The Irish Independent, 7th April
RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT
Blackrock, South Dublin Cairn Homes is to lodge plans in the coming days for a 366-home scheme for Chesterfield, Cross Avenue, in Blackrock, south Dublin. According to a statutory planning notice, Cairn Homes Properties Ltd is looking to build 355 BTR apartments (26 studios, 138 one-bed apartments, 163 two-bed apartments and 28 three-bed units) across six blocks ranging in height from three to eight storeys on the 7.9-acre site, as well as 11 homes for sale. The proposal involves a 67% increase in the number of homes over a previously planned 221-unit Cairn Homes scheme for the Chesterfield site. That proposal secured the go-ahead from An Bord Pleanála but the planning permission was quashed by the High Court in July 2019. The Irish Times, 5th April
Sandyford, Dublin 18 An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission to fast-track plans to Palemink Ltd for a 190-unit BTR scheme for the former Siemens site at the corner of Ballymoss Road and Blackthorn Avenue in Sandyford Business District, Dublin 18. The scheme will involve two 15-storey high blocks, with 92 one-bed, 86 two-bed and 12 three-bed apartments. Permission was granted over the recommendation of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council planners that it be refused. The Irish Times, 5th April
Clongriffin, North Dublin Irish property developer Twinlite and its joint venture partner Tristan Capital Partners have engaged Knight Frank and Hooke & MacDonald to act as joint agents for the sale of 376 apartments at Clongriffin in north Dublin. According to market sources, the units at One Three North will command a price in excess of €200m. The portfolio is set to come to the market virtually fully let through Twinlite’s digital rental platform Vesta. Completed in July 2020, One Three North represents the first of two phases at the Clongriffin PRS scheme. This element of the development is expected to reach practical completion within the coming weeks. Tristan Capital Partners paid Twinlite c. €130m for the 376 units in a forward purchase deal in 2018. The developer, for its part, took a minority equity stake in the scheme. The Irish Times, 6th April
Kill, Co Kildare Joint agents French Estates and O’Neill & Co are guiding a price of €1.9m for a “ready-to-go” development site in Kill village. The subject holding extends to an area of three acres and comes for sale with full planning permission for 26 new homes and the conversion of the site’s existing structure to a medical centre. The listed building which is vacant was occupied previously by the HSE. The current planning permission allows for a mix of eight large one- and two-bedroom apartments in two blocks and 15 two- and three-bedroom homes including three detached bungalows at the scheme’s entrance. The site is zoned town centre in the Kildare County development plan 2017-2023. The Irish Times, 6th April
Ballynerrin Road, Wicklow Located at Avonvale Manor on the Ballynerrin Road, a 6.17-acre site is for sale through joint agents Lisney and REA Forkin at a guide price of €2.75m. The site has full planning permission for 31 three- and four-bedroom semi-detached and detached houses. Major infrastructural works have already taken place which will ensure speedy delivery of the finished units for the incoming purchaser. In total, 17 of the 31 plots have been fully serviced, with the balance of 14 plots requiring servicing. The lands are being sold by way of formal tender guiding €2.75m. The Irish Times, 6th April
SHD Applications, North Dublin In plans for the townland of Stapolin, Baldoyle, Dublin 13, Lismore Homes Ltd has lodged a €468m application to build 1,007 apartments comprising 563 two-bedroom, four-person units, 247 one-bed units, 94 two-bedroom, three-person units, 45 three-bed units and 58 studios. As part of its compliance with Part V social housing provisions, Lismore Homes Ltd has put an indicative price tag of €92.97m (c. €464.9k per unit) on the sale of 200 residential units to Fingal County Council for social housing.
In a separate application, Hollybrook Homes subsidiary, Kinwest Ltd is to lodge plans in the coming days for 369 residential units for lands around Auburn House, Malahide. The Kinwest scheme is to comprise of 239 apartments, 87 houses and 42 duplex units and Auburn House as one dwelling. The development will consist of 135 one-bedroom duplex apartments, 138 two-bedroom duplex apartments; eight three-bedroom duplex apartments, 47 three-bedroom houses, 34 four-bedroom houses and six five-bedroom homes along with the 11-bedroom Auburn House. The apartment blocks in the scheme are to reach to four, five and six storeys. Decisions are due on the two applications by An Bord Pleanála later this year. The Irish Times, 6th April
Kilmainham, Dublin 8 An Bord Pleanála has given permission for contentious plans for a BTR apartment scheme for Dublin’s Heuston South Quarter (HSQ) that includes an 18-storey block. Last year, HPREF HSQ Investments Ltd lodged SHD plans for the five-block, 399-unit apartment scheme that sparked opposition from the State’s property arm, the Office of Public Works (OPW), the Heritage Council, An Taisce and local residents. The agencies objected over their concerns about the impact the BTR scheme will have on Royal Hospital Kilmainham (RHK) and its gardens. As part of its decision, An Bord Pleanála has ordered that two storeys be removed from two five-storey blocks. The appeals board has also ordered the removal of a large arch between Blocks A and C. However, the board’s permission includes the 18-storey, 154-unit apartment block. The Irish Times, 7th April
Churchtown, Dublin 14 A high-profile development site located between Churchtown and Rathfarnham in south Dublin has been brought to the market with a €2m guide price. Extending to 0.66 acres, the property at 149 Braemor Road comprises a brownfield site currently being used as a car valeting centre and a car sales forecourt. It benefits from 160m of road frontage. Selling agents Savills point out that after a planning application for 31 apartments, 34 car-parking spaces and 92 bicycle spaces was refused by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, the vendor appealed to An Bord Pleanála and awaits the Bord’s decision – which was due last month. The site is zoned objective A Existing Residential. The Irish Independent, 7th April
Co Kildare and Co Galway Land Sales In the first quarter of this year only 14 land sales were completed in Ireland, generating €70m. That compares with €107m-worth of deals in the first quarter of 2021. Two Real Estate Alliance agents have brought residential development sites to the market, one in Athy, Co Kildare and the other in Loughrea, Co Galway.
The Athy site extends to 18.55 acres and comes with full planning permission granted in 2020 for 218 houses and a creche. Its mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom houses would also be detached, semi-detached and terraced. REA Boyd is guiding €4.25m (c. €19.5k per average house site). In the Athy area, c. 55 acres of land has been dezoned, curtailing scope for future development.
Meanwhile, in Loughrea, REA McGreal Burke is guiding €1.7m for 9.58 acres of land at Caheronaun, beside the town centre. Of this, 4.94 acres are zoned Town Centre and three acres are zoned residential. Residential is also a use open for consideration on the land zoned Town Centre. A further 1.6 acres are zoned amenity. The Irish Independent, 7th April
Carlow Joint agents Coonan Property and Sherry Fitzgerald McDermott have brought a 14-acre plot piece of land to the market. Situated c. 2km south of Carlow town centre, it offers a residential development opportunity and is guiding €2m. Ten acres of the site have been zoned with a Residential Objective and are ready for a planning application to be submitted. The other four acres are zoned Open Space and Amenity. The lands are being sold by tender on Thursday May 12 at 12pm and guiding €2m. The Business Post, 10th April
Balbriggan, Co Dublin The Land Development Agency (LDA) has submitted a planning application to An Bord Pleanála for a SHD in Castlelands in Balbriggan, Co Dublin. The 62.5-acre site was made available to the LDA by the Housing Agency and will provide 817 homes, subject to planning approval. Situated on a greenfield site overlooking the Irish Sea, the proposed development will include both cost rental and affordable homes for purchase delivered through the government’s Housing for All policy. The planned homes will comprise 24 four-bedroom houses, 381 three-bedroom houses and duplexes, 250 two-bedroom houses and apartments and 162 one-bedroom apartments. This new community will include over 6,458 sq. ft. of retail space, a 9,354 sq. ft. crèche, 1,033 car parking spaces, 1,092 bicycle spaces and c. seven acres of public open space or communal space which will include playgrounds, multi-use games areas and parkland. The Business Post, 10th April
Hacketstown, Co Dublin A planning application for 345 homes on a site in Hacketstown, Co Dublin, has been submitted by the Land Development Agency (LDA). The proposal for a SHD on the 17-acre site near Skerries, which was made available to the LDA by the Housing Agency, will now be considered by An Bord Pleanála. The LDA said the proposed development, on a greenfield site, will include both cost rental and affordable homes for purchase. Public open space, which will include parkland and a new public square, will account for a quarter of the entire site area. The planned homes will comprise 39 three-bedroom houses, 118 three-bedroom apartments and duplexes, 104 two-bedroom apartments and duplexes and 84 one-bedroom apartments. The new community will include a 4,058 sq. ft. creche, 414 car parking spaces, and 746 bicycle spaces. The Irish Times, 11th April
Cherrywood Village, South Dublin Property developer Quintain Ireland has received planning permission for 488 new apartments and duplexes, with a GDV of more than €250m, at its Cherrywood Village development in south Dublin. The developer, which is owned by US private equity group Lone Star, intends to commence construction on the project in June, with the first homes ready for occupation by the middle of 2024. Quintain Ireland plans to deliver 1,300 new homes at Cherrywood Village by 2025. This scheme will comprise a mixture of 427 apartments, and 61 duplexes and triplexes. Permission was granted by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. Along with the new homes, there is provision for more than 46,285 sq. ft. of communal amenity space and over 75,347 sq. ft. of public open space. Lone Star purchased c. 118 acres of development land and parks in Cherrywood in south Dublin from investment firms Hines and King Street Capital in 2019, in a deal worth more than €120m. The Irish Times, 11th April
Dundrum, Dublin 16 As part of its social housing obligations under planning legislation, the owner of Dundrum Town Centre is proposing to sell 88 apartments for an indicative price tag of €42.6m (€789k for three-bedroom apartments, €568k for two-bed apartments and €385k for one-bed units) to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. The proposal under Part V of the 2000 Planning and Development Act represents 10% of the €466m 881-unit apartment scheme that Hammerson is proposing to build in Dundrum. The scheme is to be made up of 11 blocks across four zones and the developers are seeking an eight-year planning permission to complete the plan. The development would comprise 335 one-bedroom apartments, 85 two-bedroom three-person apartments; 379 two-bed four-person apartments and 82 three-bed apartments. It is proposing to sell 46 one-bedroom apartments, 37 two-bedroom apartments and five three-bedroom apartments for social housing. The scheme is to also include 10 retail units, a retail foodstore, four cafe/restaurants and a creche. A decision is due on the scheme in late July and those who wish to make submissions on the proposal have until May 9th to do so. The Irish Times, 11th April
Mount Merrion, Co Dublin Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council on Monday night approved the sale of 1.075 acres at its Mount Anville Depot site in Mount Merrion for €4.5m to the Department of Education to provide a site for a multi-denominational gaelscoil. The sale had been complete “with a view towards the possibility of them [Department] developing a temporary school on the site also, ultimately developing a three-storey, eight-classrooms school on the site”. The Irish Times, 12th April
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