17th October (Issue 419)
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.
HOSPITALITY
Temple Bar, Dublin 2 The Clarence hotel site in Dublin, which was owned by a consortium that includes members of rock band U2, has been purchased by Dean Hotel Group. Specialist lender Leumi UK has supported the acquisition with a €43m loan, facilitating the purchase of the property’s freehold interest by Dean Hotel Group. Leumi’s facility will also provide additional financing to develop another 43 rooms at the site. Press Up Hospitality, who also own Dean Hotel Group, has owned the Clarence’s leasehold since 2019. Dean Hotel Group’s refurbishment will combine the hotel with an adjacent building, which the company is also purchasing. This will boost the hotel’s total rooms to 102. One of the best-performing hotels in Dublin, the site has a typical occupancy rate of more than 90%. React News, 17th October
James Street, Dublin 8 Colliers has been instructed to sell 180-184 James Street, Dublin 8 – a city centre site with planning permission for the development of 145 hotel bedrooms. The price on application sale is augmented by a recent Agreement For Lease (AFL) that has been signed by Radisson Hotels, which has identified their Prizeotel brand as the most appropriate for this location. The site was purchased by the Dublin Loft Company in May 2019 with a view to developing it as an aparthotel and was guiding €6.5m at that time. It is an irregular-shaped site extending to approx. 0.44 acres and has frontage along James’ Street on the southern side. The applicable grant of planning relates to the new-build 145-bedroom hotel development, which will offer a gross floor area of 52,355 sq. ft over six levels above ground on the property which is held under a freehold title. A long-term FRI agreement for lease has been signed and executed. The Business Post, 14th October
Donnybrook, Dublin 4 Six months since the Hampton Hotel in Donnybrook, Dublin 4, closed to the public, the former Sachs Hotel has been put up for sale through Colliers with a guide price of €12.5m. The entire sits on a large site measuring approx. 0.83 acres, with outdoor dining area and parking for 16 cars at the front of the hotel and a large secure service yard with the option of additional residents’ car parking at the rear. The period buildings house 29 en-suite bedrooms, including three large suites; the main hotel reception and a large bar/restaurant. The two-storey extension was constructed in the 1980s and comprises the function room and a former nightclub on the lower ground floor, now converted to six additional bedrooms. The Business Post, 13th October
OFFICE
3-4 South Frederick Street, Dublin 2 With several parties already understood to have expressed an interest in the sale of New Ireland Assurance’s offices at no. 5-9 South Frederick Street, the arrival to the market of the building’s immediate neighbour just one week later opens up a range of possibilities for redevelopment. The properties are being offered for sale individually and in processes managed respectively by agents CBRE and Savills. No. 3-4 South Frederick Street briefly comprises a stand-alone office building dating from the 1940s and extending to 7,118 sq. ft distributed across four storeys over a concealed basement. Occupied for many years by General Investment Trust, a subsidiary of New Ireland Assurance and Bank of Ireland, the property is being offered for sale with the benefit of vacant possession at a guide price of €2.6m. The Irish Times, 11th October
Colliers Report Take-up in the Dublin office market reached 355,000 sq. ft in the third quarter, down from 411,000 sq. ft the previous quarter, although the number of deals remained relatively stable at 52, according to Colliers. The average deal size also remained broadly stable at 6,800 sq. ft but well below the long-term average. Professional services was the top sector, accounting for 37% of Q3 take-up, followed by industrials at 14%. The largest deal of the quarter saw Sisk/Capwell purchase the 35,000 sq. ft 3007 Lake Drive, Citywest, for its own occupation. The overall rate of vacancy increased to 15.8% in Q3, an uptick from 15.4% in Q2 and a jump from 10.4% a year ago. Grey space remains a key feature of the market and accounts for 30% of total availability, Colliers said. Bisnow, 13th October
INDUSTRIAL / LOGISTICS
Sandyford Industrial Estate, Dublin 18 CBRE has brought 25 Corrig Road in the Sandyford Industrial Estate in Dublin 18 to the market by way of assignment/sub-lease. Previously occupied by Hewlett Packard, the two-storey commercial and warehouse space extends to 15,715 sq. ft and comes with 40 secure car parking spaces. The agent is quoting a rent of €15 per sq. ft, which works out at approx. €235k. The property offers an occupier fully fitted/turnkey accommodation in a prime south suburban business district. The Business Post, 14th October
Dundalk North Business Park According to market sources, Dundalk North Business Park is being developed for the Irish-headquartered international retail giant Smyths Toys. The new Dundalk warehouse is one of the largest logistics units (401,375 sq. ft) to have been developed in Ireland over recent years. To put the size of the unit in perspective, Amazon’s recently opened e-fulfilment centre at Baldonnell Business Park in Dublin is, at 654,000 sq. ft, the largest single “build-to-suit” pre-let warehouse ever constructed in the State. The news of Smyths Toys’ arrival at Dundalk Business Park represents a significant coup for the scheme’s promoters, the McWilliams Group, coming as it does almost at the same time as the decision from Louth County Council to grant permission for the development of a further 771,062 sq. ft of industrial and logistics space distributed across 14 units. The approved units will range in size from 20,548 sq. ft to 107,338 sq. ft and can be combined to cater for requirements of up to 250,000 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 11th October
Bray, Co Wicklow Harvey is guiding a price of €4m for a five-acre site with planning in place for two logistics units on Southern Cross Road in Bray, Co Wicklow. Block A will have 60m of frontage to Southern Cross Road and will comprise 34,003 sq. ft of 12m-high warehousing with ancillary offices, loading access via three dock levellers and two level-access doors leading to a 35m-deep gated service yard. Block B comprises 50,149 sq. ft and is to be finished to a similar specification as Block A but with an additional dock leveller reflecting its larger size. The Irish Times, 11th October
Northwest Business Park, Dublin 15 Harvey is now offering Unit 200 Northwest Business Park, Ballycoolin, Dublin 15, with exceptionally large yard space for letting on flexible lease terms. The facility is situated on a 5.34-acre site and comprises a warehouse and office building totalling 70,266 sq. ft. Building 1 extends to 58,329 sq. ft and Building 2 extends to 11,937 sq. ft. Harvey Press Release 16th October
MIXED-USE
Cherrywood, South Dublin Property developer Quintain Ireland has secured planning permission for what it says will be Cherrywood’s first village centre. The €65m mixed-use scheme will include 148 build-to-rent apartments, a large supermarket, and other retail and commercial units with construction due to begin next year and be completed by late 2026. Called Cherrywood Village Centre, the plan for the South Dublin suburb has been approved by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. It will be located on a 2.7-acre site and includes a 29,062 sq. ft supermarket, eight retail units, five food and beverage outlets, three business units and 2,152 sq. ft of indoor community space. It also includes 148 one and two-bedroom apartments, and retail and residential car parking. The approval comes with a number of conditions, including financial contributions from the developer of €4.2m for various local services and infrastructure, including a contribution of at least €487k towards the cost of the nearby Luas line. The Irish Times, 16th October
Merrion Row, Dublin 2 Dublin restaurateur Gina Murphy is objecting to new plans for a five-storey, mixed-use development on Dublin’s Merrion Row. The owner of Hugo’s restaurant at 6 Merrion Row, Ms Murphy has told Dublin City Council that the mixed-use plans “would have significant adverse effects on the businesses and neighbouring premises in the surrounding area”. Last month, Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland DAC lodged plans to demolish buildings at 13 and 13a Merrion Row and 12 and 5 Merrion Court and in their place construct a four- and five-storey mixed-use scheme that would include mainly office use along with retail and restaurant use and three residential town houses. The mainly vacant site formerly housed the Unicorn restaurant. A decision is expected next month. The Irish Times, 13th October
RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT
North City Centre, Dublin BDM Property is guiding a price of €4.5m for the “Dublin One Collection”, a sizeable “pre-63″ residential investment distributed across three centrally located properties in Dublin’s North City Centre. The properties, which are available for sale in their entirety or in three individual lots, are fully let and generating a rental income of €323.3k pa. The Dublin One Collection comprises 16 residential units and a commercial unit located at no. 3 Lower Ormond Quay, nos. 83/84 Capel Street and no. 2 Gardiner Place, Dublin 1. The breakdown of the units are 10 one-beds, five two-beds and one three-bed apartment, along with one commercial unit. The Irish Times, 11th October
For lending terms on this asset please contact rossmetcalfe@origincapital.ie
Charlemont Quarter, Dublin 2 Bannon is marketing an infill site in Charlemont Quarter, Dublin 2 with planning granted for a residential scheme of 19 apartments. The property is for sale by private treaty with a guide price of €1.8m. The site, which is one of the last remaining greenfield sites in the south city centre, is a ‘ready to go’ parcel of land with a full grant of planning permission for 19 apartment units obtained from An Bord Pleanála in May 2023. The proposed development will comprise three studios, ten one-bedroom units and six-two bed units. The Business Post, 13th October
Phibsborough, Dublin 7 The conversion of the old Phibsborough shopping centre in Dublin into a 300 bed co-living development cannot now go ahead. While planning permission granted to MM Capital for the shared accommodation scheme lasts until 2026, the expiration of permission for an earlier development on the site has toppled the co-living plan. The ban was not signed into law until December 22nd, 2020, and in the intervening weeks MM Capital, owner of the Phibsborough shopping centre, submitted an application to An Bord Pleanála for a shared accommodation scheme with 321 single rooms. In April 2021 the board granted permission for the shared accommodation scheme, reducing the number of rooms from 321 to 297, with an expiry date of May 25th, 2026, for construction to start. However, changes to planning legislation meant that as the new permission was for alterations to the permitted student complex, “substantial works” would have to be carried out on the new co-living scheme before the original permission ran out. The legislation, which came into force in 2021, also meant MM Capital couldn’t seek an extension of planning permission unless substantial works were started before the original permission ran out. Permission for the student complex expired at the start of this month, with no work yet commenced on the co-living development.
While applications for more than 2,700 co-living bed spaces were lodged before the ban took effect in Ireland, fewer than half of these secured planning permission, with many still the subject of legal proceedings. Only a few hundred co-living apartments have been completed. MM Capital already had planning permission to redevelop the 1960s complex for student accommodation. This development, granted in 2018, would have provided accommodation for 341 students at the site. The Irish Times, 17th October
Cork The future of the proposed €20m glass Prism building in Cork City is back in the spotlight as the developer has yet to apply to Cork City Council to extend the hoarding licence. The current licence expires on November 14 and until then Deane Street, next to the site, will remain closed. A spokesperson for Roads Operation said the Council is engaging with the developer, Tower Holdings Group (THG), in relation to the licence, which is required to facilitate building works and to ensure public safety. The planned 15-storey block, inspired by New York’s Flat Iron building, was originally due for completion last August. The Irish Examiner, 13th October
Vacant Land Tax Dublin city developers and landowners have lost every appeal against the new land hoarding tax so far determined by An Bord Pleanála, new figures show. Owners of approx. 50 sites in the city have failed in their bids to have lands excluded from the new Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT), charged at 3% of the market value of the lands. The tax was due to be levied for the first time next February but was postponed for a year by Minister for Finance Michael McGrath in Budget 2024. Prominent sites which the board determined are liable for the tax include parts of the O’Connell Street/Moore Street redevelopment lands owned by UK property group Hammerson, former RTÉ lands owned by Cairn Homes in Dublin 4, and two sites owned by DCU. Landowners had until September 1st to lodge appeals with the board against local authorities’ decisions to include their sites on the county’s RZLT maps. The Irish Times, 12th October
OTHER
Clongriffin, Dublin 13 Dublin City Council has approached Nama about buying a building in Clongriffin for the construction of a new library. According to market sources, the council wants to buy the 35,000 sq. ft building beside the Dart station on Station Road, which has been built by the developer Gerry Gannon. Gannon’s loans were transferred to Nama in the property downturn. However, it is thought that the local authority and Nama have clashed over the price being offered for the property, which has lain vacant for nearly a decade. Ultimately the decision is Gannon’s on whether he wants to sell to the council. The Sunday Times, 15th October
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