North Docklands, Dublin Developer TIO (Targeted Investment Opportunities) has secured a further two occupiers for its North Dock office scheme in Dublin’s north docklands. Interactive Brokers and HEAnet join existing tenants Gilead Sciences and Blueface, both of which have established their EMEA headquarter operations at the development. North Dock bears the distinction of being Dublin’s first nZEB (nearly zero energy building) office development. The scheme extends to 202,000 sq. ft. in total, distributed between North Dock One (95,000 sq. ft.) and North Dock Two (107,000 sq. ft.). The Irish Times, 8th June
Adelaide Chambers, Dublin 8 An investment team led by Chartered Land has sold Adelaide Chambers, a redeveloped office building, for €13.5m. That reflects a premium of €500k on the price quoted by Knight Frank. The purchaser is IBI Group Holdings, which is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Its price reflects a NIY of c. 5.29%. Chartered Land bought the building out of receivership in 2017 for more than €7m and along with their letting and property management agents Knight Frank and asset manager iReal Capital, undertook a substantial refurbishment and letting programme that increased the income and value of the property. Its main tenant, Decawave/Qorvo, now occupies two-thirds of the building. The HSE is another tenant. The Croatian Embassy occupies the top floor of the east wing but its section was not included in the sale. The vacant office suites are expected to be refurbished by the new owner. Located c. 400m west of St Stephen’s Green, Adelaide Chambers extends to 19,639 sq. ft. and comes with 31 car spaces. The Irish Independent, 10th June
Red Cow Junction, Dublin 12 Block A in Westland Park beside the Red Cow Junction in Dublin 12 is available to rent or buy with a purchase guide price of €5m. The 25,478 sq. ft., three-storey structure is a newly refurbished, modern own-door office building with a great profile onto the New Nangor Road and 70 surface car park spaces. The Business Post, 11th June
Cork City Piling is complete at The Prism, a €20m construction project set to deliver one of Cork City’s most eye-catching office blocks. Work got underway on the narrow site next to the city’s bus station in Parnell Place late last year and is due for completion by August 2023. The 15-storey glass tower will provide c. 64,583 sq. ft. of office space on a 3,230 sq. ft. site. The Irish Examiner, 9th June
Dawson Street, Dublin 2 American software giant ServiceNow is taking 90,000 sq. ft. on a 12-year lease at the 60 Dawson Street office development in Dublin, Ireland. The deal marks the first letting for the office scheme being built by Mark and Irish investment management group BCP. ServiceNow will occupy the top four floors of the building to serve as its new headquarters in Ireland. Overlooking Trinity College, 60 Dawson Street will be delivered by Kells ICAV by the first quarter of 2023 and comprises 145,000 sq. ft. of grade A office space. Aside from workspace, the property will also host 46,000 sq. ft. of retail and leisure space adjacent to Grafton Street, and target LEED Gold and Wellness Silver status. The building is part of a wider-mixed-use development known as Grafton Place, which BCP and Meyer Bergman purchased in 2016 via a €100m+ debt facility from Goldman Sachs. Construction began in 2019. React News, 13th June
Dún Laoghaire, South Dublin Dún Laoghaire ferry terminal, which has lain idle for seven years, will be leased by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council as a “co-worker, incubator space” opening later this year. The deal will see the publicly-owned building leased to Quartermaster Innovations Ltd for at least 13 years. Councillors voted, with 35 in favour and five against, for the disposal of the terminal building to the company established by Hilary Haydon, an accountant and former president of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Chamber of Commerce, specifically for this project. It will pay rent to the council of €400k pa, starting in year two. The Irish Times, 13th June
Stillorgan, South Dublin Just over 14 months after signing up as tenants for the second floor of Maple House in Stillorgan, Pax Asset Management (trading as Ask Paul and Pax Financial) have acquired the building in its entirety for €5.2m. The sale of the south Dublin property was brokered by BNP Paribas Real Estate on behalf of the vendor, a private company which has held the investment since it was developed in the 1990s. Located at a prominent corner position directly opposite the Stillorgan Village shopping centre, Maple House comprises a modern three-storey mixed-use building of 11,963 sq. ft. with 19 car parking spaces to the front and rear. The building is fully let and producing c. €336k in rental income annually across three tenancies, namely KBC Bank, Pax Asset Management and Durkan Homes, along with supplemental telecom-mast income. All three tenancies are held under long, FRI leases with a WAULT of 5.3 years. The sale price of €5.2m reflects a NIY of c. 6%. The Irish Times, 8th June
Talbot Street, Dublin 1 According to market sources, Chartered Land is close to a deal for the sale of Independent House, the mixed-use building on Talbot Street which includes the offices of The Irish Independent and a SuperValu store. Knight Frank is guiding €29m for that investment which generates a combined annual rent roll totalling c. €1.8m (NIY 5.6%). In 2018, Chartered Land paid €24.3m for the property along with 10 adjoining Brett Court apartments. The Irish Independent, 10th June
Santry, Dublin 9 Works are expected to begin soon on site on the first of two phases in a mixed-use €16m residential/commercial scheme at Northwood in Santry in Dublin 9. The scheme, led by property investment firm Kategale, which is linked to British-based property development firm Westhill, is building a two to seven-storey block of 99 apartments, including a residents’ concierge desk, hot-desking space, meeting rooms, ESB sub-station and parking. The site is at the northeastern side of Northwood Avenue and Domville Wood on the old Ballymun Road. The Business Post, 11th June
Kilcock, Co Meath McGarrell Reilly Group has submitted a planning application to build a €124m mixed-use development in Kilcock, Co Meath. The development includes 530 residential units consisting of 454 houses and 76 apartments. Also included is a new 16-classroom primary school, community centre and crèche. The gross floor area of the proposed development is 676,748 sq. ft. The Business Post, 11th June
Westmoreland Street, Dublin 2 One Westmoreland is being offered to the market by CBRE at a guide price of €6m. The property comprises a six-storey building with full planning permission for the development of a 38-bedroom boutique hotel. The proposed hotel is set to include a ground-floor reception area and a cafe space with capacity for 40 covers. The Irish Times, 8th June
Monasterevin, Co Kildare Building works at Paddy McKillen and U2 frontman Bono’s €50m whiskey distillery and visitor centre along the banks of the Grand Canal on the site of Ballykelly Mills in Monasterevin, Co Kildare has been completed. Developed by McKillen’s Dublin-based company Jewelfield, the Church of Oak distillery and visitor centre spans 37,436 sq. ft. and involved restoring the 200-year-old building with the help of ODOS Architects. The Business Post, 11th June
Dundalk, Co Louth Kennedy Wilson, an American real estate investor, is preparing to bring Marshes Shopping Centre in Dundalk, Co Louth, to the market for an estimated €40m. Marshes, which was built at a cost of €150m in 2005 has big-name tenants including Penney, Dunnes Stores, H&M, River Island and JD Sports. The shopping centre, which has 285k sq. ft. of retail space, also includes development land with potential for a second phase of construction. Kennedy Wilson purchased Marshes in August 2014 for €44.5m. In 2017 the centre was part of a €284m refinancing that the American giant completed with Bank of Ireland across seven of its Irish assets. The refinancing extended the debt term and released €54m of equity for the company. It also owns the shopping centre Stillorgan Village in Dublin. The Sunday Times, 12th June
Clane and Newbridge, Co Kildare QRE Real Estate Advisers is seeking a combined guide price of €3.75m for two retail warehouse assets in Co Kildare. The first asset is located on the Dublin Road in Clane and extends to 25,000 sq. ft. over ground and mezzanine levels and comprises retail/warehouse space, and first-floor office accommodation. The asset is situated on a 1.61-acre site with extensive car parking and is held under freehold title. The entire property is let to Multi-Home Retail Limited, trading as The Choice under a 20-year FRI lease from May 1st, 2021. The passing rent is €200k pa. The guide price of €2.6m reflects a NIY of 7%.
The second property comprises Units 6E & 6F Cill Dara Industrial Estate in Newbridge. Unit 6E comprises 6,588 sq. ft. of trade-counter retail space and back-of-house warehouse space. Unit 6F extends to 2,099 sq. ft. and comprises ground-floor retail warehouse accommodation, with staff ancillary space. Unit 6E is let to Screwfix Direct (Ireland) Ltd on a 10-year lease with open-market rent reviews at a passing rent of €52k pa. Unit 6F is let to Crown Paints Ireland Ltd with 10 years of term-certain income, and open-market rent reviews at a passing rent of €28.5k pa. The combined rent for the two assets equates to €80.5k pa. The guide price of €1.15m reflects a NIY of 6.37%. The Irish Times, 8th June
Penney’s Flagship Store, Cork City Centre Plans for the redevelopment of Penney’s flagship store in Cork City centre have been delayed following an appeal. While planning permission was granted last month the decision is now being appealed by a third party. The plans included an increase in the store size by 17,000 sq. ft. to 54,000 sq. ft., with the project encompassing a site that stretches from Robert St to Cook St, and from St Patrick’s Street to Oliver Plunkett St. The grant of planning last month followed a lengthy consideration of the application lodged last August, which included a request for further information amid planners’ concerns about the scheme’s potential impact on the built heritage of the area. In response, Penneys said the redevelopment project would help reduce the number of vacant premises in the city. The Irish Examiner, 13th June
Clonskeagh, South Dublin La Francaise Real Estate Managers (REM) has secured its first healthcare asset in Ireland, paying €10.65m for Ballintaggart House in the south Dublin suburb of Clonskeagh. The acquisition of the property, which is let in its entirety to Sims IVF until March 31, 2033, will provide the French investor with a NIY of 4.77%. Ballintaggart House is a three-storey building comprising 19,558 sq. ft. of refurbished, high-quality accommodation in medical clinic use and 57 car parking spaces. The property sits on a substantial site of just under one acre. The subject property is well located in Clonskeagh and sits just 5km from Dublin city centre and a 10-minute drive from the M50 motorway. The Irish Times, 8th June
Kinsealy, North Co Dublin Works are under way on 32 detached two-storey houses: six at Greenwood Close, 16 at Greenwood Drive, and ten at Greenwood Park on Kinsealy Lane, in Kinsealy in north Co Dublin. The houses are part of a €7.9m housing development by Michael Woods’ Kinsealy Lane Ltd and Town Park Estates. The Business Post, 11th June
Ballincollig, Co Cork O’Flynn Construction has lodged a SHD application to build 123 apartment units and a crèche in Ballincollig, Co Cork. The proposed development includes 39 one-bed and 84 two-bed units. The overall floor area would be 112,579 sq. ft., and the estimated cost €19.7m. The Business Post, 11th June
Mallow, Co Cork Reside Capital has been granted planning permission to build 299 residential units comprising 185 two, three and four-bed houses; 50 one, two and three-bed apartments/duplex units; and 64 one and two-bed apartments in two four-storey blocks with basement parking and a 4,843 sq. ft. crèche/childcare facility in a scheme with an estimated cost of €52m at Annabella, Mallow, Co Cork. The Business Post, 11th June
Housing Construction, Ireland The number of new houses built is set to increase over coming years but will still fall short of the Government’s targets, according to predictions published by EY’s economic advisory arm. The firm estimates that house completions will rise to 25,000 this year, up from just under 20,500 in 2021. In a report compiled for the Euroconstruct industry forecasting network, EY estimates that completions will rise to 27,000 next year, and 32,000 in 2024, but these are still below the levels required to address the housing crisis as laid out in the State’s Housing for All plan. EY warns that rampant cost inflation in the construction sector is affecting the viability of many schemes and the challenges impacting upon the housing crisis are “gathering momentum”. The firm estimates that construction inflation will reach 10% this year, before slipping back to 6% in 2023 and 4% in 2024. Overall construction output this year is estimated by EY at €29.1bn, or c. 6.2% of the value of the economy as measured by GDP. Construction output last year was valued at €25.2bn, with much of the rise accounted for by inflation. The Business Post, 13th June
Housing Legislation, Fingal County Council Locals will have first refusal on the purchase of large numbers of affordable homes in north Dublin under new measures due to be voted on by Fingal county councillors on Monday. Councillors are expected to approve plans to give priority to housing applicants who can prove they have lived in Fingal for at least five years when allocating c. 30% off new affordable homes. An applicant does not have to be currently resident in Fingal and may have only lived in the area as a child, as long as they can prove they spent five years in the area. The Government’s affordable housing regulations introduced in April allow local authorities to use their discretion in allocating 30% of the homes in affordable purchase schemes to locals. Fingal’s priority scheme has already been approved by the Department of Housing and is expected to apply to all its affordable housing development from now on. The Irish Times, 13th June
Housing Legislation, Ireland A total of 16,000 new homes have been ring-fenced for individual buyers following a government ban on “bulk buying” by institutional investors. The planned sale of 115 homes in the Mullen Park estate in Maynooth estate to Round Hill Capital, a global investment firm, caused a political furore last year. It led to the government bringing in new legislation to impose a higher stamp duty charge of 10% on investment funds if they bought up ten or more houses in housing estates. New planning regulations were also introduced to prevent multiple housing and duplex units being sold to a single buyer. An Bord Pleanála has confirmed that the developers of 7,988 homes in 23 SHDs are banned from selling them in bulk under the conditions of planning permissions granted in the past 12 months. City and county councils have also imposed the same conditions on a further 7,895 homes which have got planning permission in the past 12 months, bringing the total number of homes ring-fenced for individual buyers to c. 16,000 homes. The Business Post, 9th June
Castlemartyr, East Cork Land within and beside an East Cork village’s boundary is up for sale, zoned for development, and with scope to deliver up to 200 new homes, subject to planning permission. Listed with Lisney, is a block of 33 acres guiding €2m, the equivalent of €10,000 per house ‘stand’. The Irish Examiner, 9th June
Clonburris, South Dublin Plans for the construction of 115 homes in the new Dublin suburb of Clonburris, just over half of which will be sold under the affordable housing scheme, have been approved by South Dublin county councillors. The council project will see 59 affordable purchase homes and 56 social homes built on a site just south of the Grand Canal and less than 10 minutes’ walk from Clondalkin train station. The low-rise estate will have 27 three- and four-bedroom houses, 42 apartments in two-storey blocks, 27 apartments in nine three-storey blocks, and a four-storey block of 19 apartments. The scheme will be the first developed by the council on its landholding in the new Clonburris Strategic Development Zone (SDZ), which is designated for more than 8,400 homes. The Irish Times, 13th June
Cabra, North Dublin Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has emerged victorious in her opposition to plans for a 117-unit BTR apartment scheme at the former Matt’s of Cabra pub site. This follows the appeals board refusing planning permission to R&D Developments Ltd for the 67 one-bed unit and 50 two-bed unit apartment scheme at Faussagh Avenue, Cabra. Planning consultants for R&D Developments Ltd, Thornton O’Connor Town Planning, contended that the scheme would provide suitable alternative housing accommodation types for people seeking residential accommodation in Dublin. However, in her objection, Ms. McDonald argued that the BTR development does not meet the needs of the local community, neither does it foster active citizenship. The scheme also faced opposition from a number of local residents. The refusal by the board follows a recommendation by Dublin City Council to deny planning permission. The Irish Times, 13th June
Lackaroe and Monkstown, Cork The appeals board has refused planning permission to O’Brien and O’Flynn for 171 units at a site 10km southeast of Cork city at Lackaroe and Monkstown, Passage West. The scheme — which faced local opposition — comprised 145 houses and 26 apartments. The appeals board refused permission after concluding that the scheme would endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard. The Irish Times, 13th June
Nama made an average €30k profit from each of the 13,000 homes whose construction it backed since 2014, its chief executive, Brendan McDonagh, confirmed on Thursday. Nama, established 12 years ago to bail out Irish banks following the financial crash, will wind up its operations by the end of December 2025. Debtors still owe it €14bn in loans dating from a property bubble that precipitated the crash in 2008. In all, Nama has aided the building of 24,400 new homes in the Republic. Along with the 13,300 it financed, developers built a further 11,100 on sites where the agency got planning permission, funded enabling work or covered legal and other costs before selling the land. The agency expects to pay a total €4.5bn surplus to the State once it is wound up. Adding €400m in corporate taxes that it has already paid, its total contribution will be €4.9bn. The surplus will be what the agency has left after repaying its debts and covering its costs. In 2020 Nama repaid the €31.8bn it originally borrowed to buy the banks’ loans, leaving the agency with no liabilities. The Irish Times, 9th June
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