16th November (Issue 323)

The Prism, Cork City Centre Construction of The Prism, a long-awaited €20m commercial development in Cork City, is finally set to get underway on November 23. Documents filed with Cork City Council indicate the late November commencement date, more than two years after planning permission was sought for the 15-storey office block. The project was delayed by pandemic lockdowns. The development — earmarked for a narrow triangular-shaped, 3,000 sq. ft. site next to the city’s bus station at the confluence of Clontarf Street/Deane Street/Oliver Plunkett Street Lower — is described by the developers as a “grade A” commercial development consisting of “64,583 sq. ft. of light-filled, fourth-generation office space”. The Irish Examiner, 11^th November

Tallaght, Dublin 24 An investment opportunity at the Cookstown Court office development in Tallaght, Dublin 24 has come to the market for sale by private treaty and guiding €5m through selling agent BNP Paribas Real Estate. The two four-storey over double-basement, semi-detached office buildings extend to a gross internal area of 38,588 sq. ft. and come with a generous allocation of 124 on site car spaces. Blocks A and B have average floor plates sizes ranging from 3,121 to 6,350 sq. ft. and offer flexible, bright, open-plan accommodation. The two blocks currently produce a highly reversionary rental income of €396,216 ex Vat across five tenancies with an average passing rent of €10 per sq. ft., including parking. The net initial yield of 7.21% can easily be increased through pro-active asset management strategy via lettings of the vacant office suite, lease re-gears and rent reviews. The weighted average unexpired lease term is c. 4.3 years. The Business Post, 14^th November

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HOSPITALITY

Dublin Arch, North Dublin US hotel group Standard Hotels has chosen Dublin Arch, located on Dublin’s northside, as the location for its first hotel in Ireland. The Dublin hotel, which is expected to open in 2025, will have 200 rooms. Dublin Arch, formerly known as the Connolly Quarter, is being developed by Irish group Ballymore as a mixed-use business and residential development. Located adjacent to Connolly Station and bounded by Sheriff St Lower, Commons St and Oriel St, it extends to c. 1,195,000 sq. ft. and will include homes, restaurants, community clubs, artists’ studios and office space, as well as Ireland’s first Standard Hotel. The Irish Times, 10^th November

STUDENT ACCOMMODATION

Cushman & Wakefield Report Just 850 purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) spaces were under construction in Dublin during the third quarter, a sharp drop on recent years. A new report from Cushman & Wakefield finds that c. 1,350 new PBSA bed spaces are due to be delivered to the Dublin market in 2021, bringing total stock in the market to c. 18,700 bed spaces across 56 developments. With a return to close to full occupancy for many of the PBSA buildings, the report notes that from 2022 onwards, the delivery of new bed spaces will reduce significantly. This decline comes on the back of several years of annual double-digit growth during 2016 and 2019 which resulted in a reduction in the student-to-bed ratio from c. 4:1 in 2018, to a now estimated 2.7:1. However, at the end of the third quarter of 2021, c. 7,350 student-bed spaces across 17 developments in Dublin had planning permission granted.

Outside of Dublin, Cork is the largest market, with a stock of c. 6,200 beds as of the third quarter of 2021. Almost four-fifths of this stock is accounted for by private ownership, and there has been a pick-up in beds delivered with c. 600 beds delivered to the Cork market for the academic year 2020/2021. This comprised 417 beds at a Uninest development at the former Beamish and Crawford brewery, and Nido’s first Irish residence at Curraheen Point, which provides c. 160 beds. Looking to development activity in Cork, there are currently 1,700 bed spaces under construction in the city, with c. 800 beds expected to complete in 2022.

In Galway, there is a current stock level of just over 4,500 bed spaces, with two new openings over the past year. Mezzino opened c. 400 beds at its Westwood development close to the NUIG campus, while a further 153 beds opened just off Eyre Square. There are currently just over 670 beds under construction in Galway, all of which are located on the NUIG campus, with expected delivery by 2023. The longer pipeline picture in Galway also appears positive, with c. 1,350 beds currently with plans granted and a further c. 70 beds with plans submitted. As the report notes however, with no recent commencements it is unclear as to when, or if, all these beds will be delivered to market. The Irish Times, 10^th November

RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT

Blackrock, Co Louth Selling agent CBRE has brought a development site with full planning permission to build 158 homes and a creche to the market in Blackrock, Co Louth, seeking €3.25m. The coastal site has permission for a range of home types, including apartments and houses. The planning includes a selection of 99 houses, 13 duplexes and 46 apartments. The site is in the coastal area of Cois Farraige, c. 1.2km west of Blackrock village, and is situated at the corner of Rock Road and the Old Golf Links Road. The site is zoned Residential Phase 1 – “to protect and improve existing residential amenities and to provide for infill and new residential developments’’ under the Dundalk and Environs Development Plan. The Irish Times, 10^th November

Ashbourne, Co Meath A ready-to-go site in Ashbourne town centre with full planning permission for 18 homes has come to the market. The site, which is being brought to the market by Hooke & MacDonald, is located at Castle Street in the Meath town. The property comprises a development site of c. 1.73 acres, which incorporates two derelict residential houses. The site benefits from c. 100m of frontage on to Castle Street. Hooke & MacDonald is guiding in excess of €1.65m for the land, which equates to €91.5k per house site. The Irish Times, 10^th November

Smithfield, Dublin 7 A prime development site located on St. Michan’s Street directly opposite the former fruit and vegetable market in Smithfield, in Dublin’s city centre, has come to the market seeking €1m. The site extends to just under 3,230 sq. ft. and is within walking distance of Capel Street, the Four Courts and the Luas line. The site is vacant and cleared, within defined boundaries, and pre-planning documents have been drawn up for a residential scheme. Subject to planning permission, the site has potential for a 10-storey residential block comprising 17 residential units and one commercial unit, extending to 700 sq. ft. It is being brought to the market via private treaty by BidX1. The Irish Times, 10^th November

Belmayne, Dublin 13 Developer Kajima has bought a 3.45 acre site in Dublin for its first-ever build-to-rent development in Ireland as it seeks to gain exposure in the Irish private residential market. The scheme obtained planning permission in August under Ireland’s fast-track Strategic Housing Development planning route. Kajima is looking to build 260 apartments, of which 67% are private rental homes and 33% are social and affordable homes. The development will comprise six cores within three buildings of up to seven-storeys. It will have 108 one-bedroom, 135 two-bedroom and 17 three-bedroom homes as well as more than 5,382 sq. ft. of residential amenities such as a gym, media room and workstations. The site sits within the north fringe business district in the northern suburb of Belmayne, offering easy access to Dublin airport and Dublin central business district via public transport. Enabling works are likely to begin in December of this year and construction in April 2022. Completion is expected by mid-2025. React News, 11^th November

Drumcondra, Dublin 9 Planning permission has been approved for the construction of a €250m build-to-rent apartment scheme in Dublin 9. US property group, Hines has received planning permission for the construction of 1,592 apartment units on the site of the former Holy Cross Seminary at Clonliffe College in Drumcondra. Planning permission was originally sought for 1,612 units, however An Bord Pleanála omitted 20 units from the proposal as a condition of granting permission. The Business Post, 14^th November

Drogheda, Co Louth Loughdale Properties Limited has lodged an SHD for 237 dwellings in detached, semi-detached, terraced/townhouse, terraced/duplex and apartment form and a crèche on the Old Slane Road in Drogheda, Co Louth. The buildings range in height from one to five storeys. The development has a total floor area of 258,807 sq. ft. and an estimated cost of €45m. The Business Post, 14^th November

Rosshill, Galway An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission to Alder Developments for an €18.3m SHD Residential Development at Rosshill, Galway city. The development will include 102 residential units (35 apartments and 67 houses), a crèche facility, retail units, playground and associated works. The Business Post, 14^th November

Mulhuddart, Dublin 15 MNE Capital has lodged a strategic housing development application for a €32m apartment development at Canterbury Gate on the Old Navan Road in Mulhuddart in Dublin 15. The proposed development will measure over 172,222 sq. ft. and will include 189 build-to-rent apartment units and a crèche facility across four blocks over five storeys in height. The Business Post, 14^th November

Clane, Co Kildare In a strategic housing development ruling, the appeals board has granted planning permission to plans by Debussy Properties Ltd for 192 residential units at a site on the southern side of Prosperous Road, Clane, in Co Kildare. The scheme is comprised of 114 houses and 78 duplex units. The board has ordered that all houses and duplex units not be sold to a corporate entity and the sales instead be limited to individual purchasers. The Irish Times, 10^th November

Loughlinstown, South Co Dublin An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission for a 256-unit build-to-rent apartment scheme on lands at St Laurence’s College, Loughlinstown, in south county Dublin. The apartment scheme, extending to eight storeys in height, faced strong local opposition. More than 70 objections were lodged. In refusing planning permission, the appeals board ruled the proposal would have an overbearing impact on adjacent residential properties at Wyattville Park and would not make a positive contribution to the identity and character of the area. The Irish Times, 10^th November

Cherrywood, South Co Dublin Developer Lioncor is taking High Court action against Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council after planners refused it permission to build 445 homes. Council planners refused Lioncor subsidiary 1 Carrickmines Land Ltd permission for 404 apartments and 41 houses in the Cherrywood strategic development zone in south Co Dublin last September. High Court papers filed this week show that 1 Carrickmines Land is taking judicial review proceedings against Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. Planners refused permission as the proposals, including measures to prevent flooding, were not consistent with the overall Cherrywood strategic development zone conditions. Accounts lodged by 1 Carrickmines Land show it had spent c. €21.5m on the Cherrywood site by the end of last year. That included €15.8m to buy the land and €5.7m in development costs. Cherrywood will ultimately house c. 30,000 people in a self-contained suburban centre covering 412 acres that will include offices, shops, services, schools and amenities. The total investment could run to €2bn. The Irish Times, 12^th November

Blackpool, Cork Two Cork landowning families are behind plans lodged with An Bord Pleanála for a build-to-rent scheme in Cork city’s northside suburb of Blackpool. If the 191 apartment development is given the go-ahead, it will see the conversion of a former distillery building, Hewitt’s Mill, into apartments, as well as the construction of two nine-storey apartment blocks on wasteland directly opposite the Revenue Commissioners’ offices on Assumption Road. The overall development, covering 1.96 acres and with a gross residential floor space of 142,000 sq. ft., will include communal facilities for residents, such as function rooms, residential lounges, gym facilities, a cinema room, plenty of bicycle spaces, but very limited car parking – just 14 spaces at the Hewitt’s Mill site. The maximum height over ground level across the three sites will be 31.8m (the island site) to parapet level.  The Irish Examiner, 11^th November

Development Land Sector, Ireland With activity gathering momentum, the development land sector could see sales exceed €500m by year end, as agents CBRE and Savills agree that third-quarter sales reached c. €185m. According to CBRE, the third quarter figure exceeds the value of sales in the first two quarters of the year combined and brings total spend in the first nine months of 2021 to c. €369m. Savills estimates the year-to-date figure slightly higher, at €378m, but also pointed out that this represents a decline of 19% compared to the quarterly average of €227m witnessed over the last five years. The strong values of Dublin docklands sites was reflected in two of the top deals in the quarter. While the biggest price in the third quarter was achieved by a north docklands site, the highest price per acre was recorded by one in the south docklands. Eagle Street Partner purchased a six-acre site at Castleforbes Business Park for €78.5m from Glenveagh. That equates to €13,083,333 per acre. An even higher per acre price of €73,637,090 was paid for 1-6 City Quay when KC Capital paid €40.5m for the 0.6-acre landmark site. The Business Post, 14^th November

OTHER

Strategic Housing Developments, Ireland The State’s fast-track planning process will not be fully wound up until next June, several months later than expected. Pre-planning applications for strategic housing developments (SHDs) will be allowed up until December 17^th under the Government’s plan to abolish the SHD legislation, which has become mired in legal challenges. This means developers could in theory submit planning applications under the SHD rules up until June 2022 with applications being decided on up until October 2022. Introduced in 2016, SHD legislation aimed to speed up the planning process by allowing developers apply directly to An Bord Pleanála for housing developments of at least 100 units or student accommodation developments containing 200 beds or more. However, the system has been derailed by a litany of legal challenges and so the Government has now moved to end the process earlier than next February when it was due to expire. The Government’s new large-scale residential development (LSRD) legislation, which gives decision-making powers back to local authorities but with tighter timelines around decision-making, is expected to come into effect in December. The Department of Housing confirmed in September that almost two-thirds of the 210 housing projects approved under the SHD fast-track planning laws remain undeveloped. More than half have been halted by judicial reviews. Under the new legislation, planning authorities will have to give a decision on LSRD planning applications within eight weeks of receiving them. There will also be a 16-week mandatory timeframe for decisions on subsequent appeals to An Bord Pleanála. The Irish Times, 10^th November

Residential Property Prices increased by 12.4% nationally in the year to September, according to the latest data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). This compares to an increase of 10.9% in the year to August and a decrease of 0.8% in the 12 months to September 2020. In Dublin, residential property prices saw an increase of 11.5% in the year to September, while property prices outside Dublin were 13.2% higher. In the capital, house prices increased by 12.4% and apartment prices increased by 7.7%. The highest house price growth in Dublin was in the city at 14.1%, while Fingal saw a rise of 8.6%. Outside Dublin, house prices were up by 13% and apartment prices up by 15.1%. The region outside of Dublin that saw the largest rise in house prices was the Border, at 21.9%. At the other end of the scale, the Mid-East saw a 10.7% rise. Overall, the national index is 7.4% lower than its highest level in 2007. Dublin residential property prices are 13.8% lower than their February 2007 peak, while prices in the rest of Ireland are 9.5% lower than their May 2007 peak. Property prices nationally have increased by 106.5% from their trough in early 2013.  The Irish Times, 15^th November

Glenveagh Properties, Ireland Housebuilder Glenveagh Properties plans to buy back a further €100m of shares, after completing the sale of a 4.6-acre residential and hotel site at Castleforbes Business Park in Dublin’s docklands. The planned share repurchase programme follows on from the group having completed its first share buyback scheme last month, under which shares to the value of €75m were acquired on the market for cancellation. Glenveagh announced in late August that it had agreed to sell the residential and hotel site at Castleforbes for €78.5m to Eagle Street Partners Group. The deal followed on from the group selling the planned 262-bed Premier Inn hotel in Castleforbes to German asset manager Union Investment through a forward fund arrangement. The overall Castleforbes site in the Dublin docklands was purchased by Glenveagh in 2018 and the site now consists of two hotels, an office of 120,000 sq. ft. and 700 residential units. The Irish Times, 16^th November

Slate Office Reit, Dublin Toronto-based real-estate investment trust Slate Office Reit has agreed to take over Yew Grove Reit, the owner of office and industrial assets outside Dublin’s city centre, for €127.8m. Including Yew Grove’s €49.5m of borrowings implies an overall enterprise value on the Dublin-listed company of €177.4m. The offer price of €1.017 per share represents a tight 1.7% premium to Yew Grove’s closing price on Monday and is 3.7% above the company’s volume-weighted average share price over the past 180 trading days. Yew Grove’s focus has been on office and industrial assets let to State entities, IDA-supported companies and large corporates. The Irish Times, 16^th November

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