19th October (Issue 319)
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
Liberties, Dublin 8 CBRE has brought The Vicar Street Hotel site in the Liberties area of Dublin 8 to the market with a guide price in excess of €12 million. The site has full planning permission in place for an eight-storey, 185-bedroom hotel on the site since 2019 despite considerable local opposition. Construction on the hotel was due to commence shortly after the development received the planning permission, with a view to completion the following year. However, this was delayed, largely as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The hotel, which will include a rooftop bar and restaurant with outdoor terrace, will be located on a site in one of Dublin’s most historic areas and close to both the city centre and the planned Guinness St. James’s Quarter development. The Irish Times, 12th October
Store Street, Dublin 1 Bagnall Doyle MacMahon is guiding €1.9 million for Ryan’s Bar on Store Street in Dublin 1. The property is being sold on behalf of Sean Ryan who is retiring from the trade. Ryan’s is located at No. 19 on the street, directly opposite Store Street Garda Station and adjacent to Busáras bus terminus. The property is close to the IFSC and the Docklands with its numerous office blocks and corporate headquarters. Importantly, the property is within walking distance of the GAA headquarters at Croke Park. Ryan’s of Store Street is a traditional-style, part three storey/part two storey over basement licensed premises which extends to c. 6,243 sq. ft. The accommodation briefly comprises ground-floor lounge bar and customer toilets; first-floor self-contained lounge/private function room, with a fully fitted and equipped catering kitchen and dumb waiter lift located on the second floor. In the basement there is a cold room and ample keg and storage areas. The Business Post, 17th October
Smithfield, Dublin 7 Over 50 objections have been lodged against plans to build a nine-storey hotel over and adjacent to the Cobblestone pub in Dublin’s Smithfield area. Last month, Marron Estates lodged plans for a 114-bedroom hotel at King St at Smithfield, Dublin 7. All parties have until November 4 to lodge objections with the City Council. Documents lodged with the planning application state that the Cobblestone pub, which is a protected structure, is to be retained as part of the scheme. A heritage assessment lodged with the planning application points out that the hotel that will be developed over the Cobblestone pub “will be set back from the building line in order to retain the existing character of the buildings at street level”. A decision is due on the application next month. The Irish Examiner, 15th October
RETAIL
Glasnevin, Dublin 11 275 Glasnevin Avenue, Glasnevin, Dublin 11 has come to the market. It comprises five occupied commercial units in a neighbourhood centre on a corner site with a generous forecourt. Extending to a combined 6,323 sq. ft., the units generate a passing rent of €101,650, rising contractually to €105,450 in May 2022. Selling agent Eamonn Maguire is quoting €1.05 million and says this would equate to an 8.8% net initial yield rising to 9.13% in Q2 2022. There is also an opportunity to enhance returns with two rent reviews pending next year. The centre is anchored by BestDrive, the nationwide motor service firm. The Irish Independent, 14th October
Point Square, Dublin 1 US property investor Kennedy Wilson is in pole position to buy Point Square on Dublin’s docks. Built by developer Harry Crosbie next to the 3Arena, and formerly known as Point Village, the block includes offices, an Odeon cinema and parking spaces. Anchor tenant Dunnes Stores has yet to open there. Kennedy Wilson has emerged as the preferred bidder for the property. Grant Thornton, the receiver appointed by the National Asset Management Agency to Point Square, offered it for sale in July 2021 with a guide price of €75 million. The Irish Times, 17th October
OFFICE
South Mall, Cork The Munster headquarters of Bank of Ireland at 32 South Mall in Cork is being offered for sale by joint agents Colliers and Cohalan Downing with a guide price of €13.5 million, offering a yield of 5.82%. Attractively, the entire building is let to Bank of Ireland, which will remain as a blue-chip tenant on a full repairing and insuring lease with an unexpired term of more than 10 years. The lease benefits from five-yearly, upwards-only rent reviews. The current passing rent is €864,879.35 per year. The property is a five-storey office building extending to 26,683 sq. ft., with the site extending to 0.26 acres (0.1 ha). Accommodation includes a retail banking hall at ground-floor level, with four floors of modern office accommodation overhead. South Mall has been home to the Munster headquarters of Bank of Ireland since the 1970s, and is one of only two Bank of Ireland branches remaining in the city centre. The Irish Times, 13th October
MIXED USE
Gardiner Street, Dublin 1 CBRE has brought a budget hotel, a 10-unit apartment block and a site with development potential on Gardiner Street Lower, Dublin, to market as one lot seeking €9 million. No. 88-89 Gardiner Street Lower, Dublin 1, is home to My Place, a budget hotel offering guest accommodation in a combination of 35 en-suite rooms and 52 hostel beds. The sale also includes Mabbot House, on the adjacent Mabbot Lane. This property comprises 10 spacious and modern apartments (three one-bed units; four two-beds; and three two-bed penthouses). Each apartment features a balcony or terrace. The sale offers development potential, as My Place has planning permission for development at the rear to provide for an additional 33 bedrooms. The development will require demolition of an existing warehouse on Mabbot Lane. The Irish Times, 13th October
Dawson Street, Dublin 2 Dublin city’s next significant office and retail destination will enjoy a prime city centre location at the bottom of Dawson Street and Nassau Street, opposite the grounds of Trinity College. Last week, London-based real estate investment management firm Mark, and Dublin-based investment management group BCP, announced that it will launch in c. 15 months in spring 2023. 60 Dawson Street and Grafton Place is located on one of the last significant city centre development sites and is c. 50 metres from Grafton Street. The 189,983 sq. ft. property encompasses 60 Dawson Street and a significant retail offering at Grafton Place and will be built in accordance with industry leading WELL and LEED Gold certification. 60 Dawson Street offers fully flexible floor plates, next-generation amenities and communal spaces, including 5,597 sq. ft. of private landscaped terraces, with panoramic city views and an impressive six-storey, light-filled atrium that will operate as a central innovation hub. The Business Post, 17th October
RESIDENTIAL / LAND
Grand Canal Dock, Dublin 2 A waterfront period building in Dublin’s Silicon Docks has been brought to market by Knight Frank with potential for redevelopment at a guide price of €4m. Dock Mill at Grand Canal Dock, Barrow Street, comprises an existing five-storey over-basement period building of c. 11,915 sq. ft. on a site of c. 0.057 acres, which includes seven basement car spaces. The property benefits from existing planning permission to convert the building into nine apartments within the envelope of the current structure, all with stunning waterfront views. However, given the recent precedent set in the immediate area for additional floors over the Malt House building, Dock Mill now offers a similar opportunity to secure additional height and redevelop the site as a landmark office or residential scheme with spectacular, waterfront views. Consequently, the architectural firm Urban Agency has been drafted in to prepare a conceptual design for a tapered, 12-storey office or residential scheme of c. 19,622 sq. ft. above basement, subject to planning permission. The site is zoned objective Z14 under the Dublin City Development Plan 2016-2022 and is within the North Lotts and Grand Canal Dock strategic development zone scheme. The Irish Times, 13th October
Douglas, Co Cork Sirio Investment Management Ltd has applied for permission to build three apartment blocks of c. 65 apartments, ranging from six to ten-storeys in height, with 45 of the apartments being “Build to Rent”, as well as four retail commercial units, in Douglas Village Co Cork. The development is set for the site of the former Permanent TSB on East Douglas Street and Main Street. The bank relocated to a corner unit by Circle K gas station some years ago. A residents’ gym and meeting room are also part of the proposal. The apartments will be spread across three blocks, with 20 apartments in a four to six-storey block, 15 apartments in a six-storey block and 30 apartments in an eight to ten-storey block. The Irish Examiner, 13th October
Kilmainham, Dublin 8 An application to build 399 apartments in a development beside the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin has been lodged with the planning board. Plans for the €67 million Heuston South Quarter development were submitted by HPREF HSQ Investments this month on a 1.08-hectare site in Kilmainham on St. John’s Road West and Military Road. Of the 399 build-to-rent apartments proposed, 46 are studio, 250 are one-bedroom, and 103 are two-bedroom. The development would comprise five blocks ranging from 3 to 18 storeys in height. Block B of the development would include a 1,292 sq. ft. retail unit with a small garden and seating area. The plans for indoor communal facilities include a gym and lounge area on the lower ground floor, and a foyer and two lounges on the ground floor of block A. Communal outdoor amenity spaces for residents also feature, including rooftop terraces and lower-level communal courtyards between blocks. 80 car parking spaces and four motorcycle spaces would be provided in a basement car park, along with up to 300 double-stacked bicycle parking spaces that would fit 600 bicycles. The Times, 16th October
OTHER
Mortgage Lending, Ireland Davy has raised its forecasts for Irish mortgage lending for this year and next and now sees the value of activity topping €12 billion in 2022, the highest level since the property crash, helped by rising house completions and the Government’s planned shared-equity scheme for first-time buyers. The stockbroking firm has raised its 2022 mortgage market forecast for next year to €12.1 billion from €11.2 billion previously, while it sees activity in 2023 coming to €14.2 billion, up from its previous estimate of €12.5 billion. Figures obtained earlier this month by Davy from the Department of Housing show that the number of housing units started this year has hit c. 30,000 as builders rush to meet surging demand and try to make up for lost activity during the lockdowns. The brokerage sees house completions amounting to 29,000 next year. By contrast, completions for this year are on track to amount to 22,000, according to Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI). The Irish Times, 18th October
Zoned Land Tax, Ireland A zoned land tax has been introduced with an initial rate of 3% of the market value of land proposed and will have a lead-in time of two or three years depending on when the land was zoned. When it comes into operation, the tax will replace the vacant sites levy. Instead of councils pursuing landowners, Revenue will take charge. Paschal Donohoe, the Finance Minister, indicated that the tax would apply to serviced sites. Developers want assurances that it will apply to sites that are already serviced rather than merely capable of being serviced. The government also allocated c. €2.6 billion of capital funding for housing, an increase of 8% on 2021, and c. €1.4 billion of current funding. The money will support an extra 14,000 housing assistance payment tenancies; deliver 11,820 new social homes through build, acquisition and leasing; and fund the shared equity scheme, which will cost €44 million. The Sunday Times, 17th October
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