27th July (Issue 307)
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.
OFFICE
City Quay, Dublin 2 David Kennan’s KC Capital Property Group is closing in on the purchase of the former City Arts Centre on Dublin’s City Quay for around €40 million. The developer was selected as preferred bidder for the property in the face of competing bids from a number of parties including Simon Kelly’s RQTwo, Johnny Ronan’s Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE), Pat Crean’s Marlet Property Group, and US real estate giant Hines. While the City Quay site has lain dormant for the past 18 years, the combination of its zoning for a broad range of commercial uses and its status as the last remaining waterfront site in the Dublin docklands saw a number of offers that were well in excess of the €35 million price John Swarbrigg of Savills had been guiding when he brought the property to the market in April. KC Capital is understood to have been advised on its bid by Mark Smyth of MSP Consulting. A feasibility study drawn up by RKD Architects in preparation for the site’s sale by Savills suggests it could accommodate a 145,000sq ft (net) office development, subject to planning permission. The Irish Times, 21st July
Hatch Street, Dublin 2 Social media group LinkedIn is considering taking up to another 90,000 sq ft of office space in Dublin, a further sign momentum has started to return to the city’s leasing market. The US tech firm is understood to be exploring additional options with space at Aviva’s former One Park Place office on Hatch Street under review, according to several market sources. The building, located in the heart of Dublin’s traditional business district, is owned by Clancourt Group. Two current occupiers in the building – Aviva and San Francisco-based Dropbox – had over 110,000 sq ft of space listed as available to sublease. Should LinkedIn commit to additional office space ahead of the opening of its EMEA headquarters in 2023, it will be a positive signal US tech firms are already placing an importance on their office networks as the world feels its way out of the pandemic. Iput is in the process of delivering LinkedIn’s new 430,000 sq ft EMEA head office at Wilton Park, where the social media group signed up on a 25-year lease. The building is expected to be ready for occupation in 2023. React News, 23rd July
INDUSTRIAL
M7 Real Estate Pan-European investor and asset manager M7 Real Estate has secured four new lettings across three schemes within its Dublin portfolio of industrial and logistics properties. In the first instance, M7 has agreed a deal on behalf of a major financial institution with the HSE for 12,800sq ft of warehouse and office space at unit 8 North Park. The subject property has been acquired on behalf of the ambulance service on a new 10-year lease at a rent of €10.50 per sq ft following a full refurbishment. The second deal sees Clevamama, the baby products and nursery brand retailer founded by sisters and mothers Martina Craine and Suzanne Browne, taking 11,400sq ft of newly refurbished warehouse space at €10.75 per sq ft on a 10-year lease at B3A Airport Business Park, which is located close to Dublin Airport. The third transaction, meanwhile, sees Screwfix Ireland leasing unit 3 at Westlink Industrial Estate. The subject property comprises 5,850sq ft and will be occupied by Screwfix on a 10-year lease at a rent of €10 per sq ft.The building underwent an extensive refurbishment in the second half of 2020 on a speculative basis and terms were agreed with Screwfix in advance of its practical completion. The fourth and final letting sees Commercial Interior Supplies (CIS) expanding its existing footprint at Westlink Industrial Estate with an agreement for unit 27 (5,808sq ft) at a rent of €9.50 per sq ft. The Irish Times, 21st July
Northwest Logistic Park Park Developments has agreed the sale of a portfolio of prime logistics units at Northwest Logistics Park to a fund managed by Savills Investment Management (Savills IM) for a price in the region of €47.9 million. The portfolio comprises four modern, high-spec buildings extending to over 242,005 sq ft in total and let on long-term leases. Northwest Logistics Park is one of Dublin’s premier logistics locations, ideally positioned convenient to the M50, Dublin International Airport, Port Tunnel and all of the main arterial routes from Dublin city. The park has a strong track record of attracting high-calibre occupiers. Also, further opportunities are available with 80 acres of undeveloped land and planning permission in place for three new industrial and logistics facilities, ranging in size from 39,987 to 120,007 sq ft, two of which are currently under construction. The portfolio will be acquired by Savills IM’s European Commercial Fund – a pan-European, multi-sector fund focusing on office, retail and logistics assets. Savills IM has more than €21.2 billion assets under management globally. The Irish Times, 22nd July
RESIDENTIAL / LAND
Kilcock, Kildare Savills has launched lands for sale at Branganstown in Kilcock, Co Kildare on the instructions of Ken Fennell, the statutory receiver of certain assets of construction firm Chesford Developments Ltd. The site is being offered for sale at a guide price of €4 million (c.€500k per acre) subject to contract. Located beside the well-established residential developments of Oughterany Village (Phase 1), Royal Meadows and Chambers Park, these greenfield lands, which extend to about 7.97 acres, have the benefit of a full grant of planning permission for 66 dwellings (12 detached and 54 semi-detached). The lands are located along the proposed route of the Royal Canal Greenway, which is due to be extended by 2023. The Business Post, 25th July
Ballincollig, Cork A proposed residential development in the centre of Ballincollig has been rejected. Kway Developments Limited had sought planning for the demolition of an existing house at East Gate, Main Street in Ballincollig. In its place, the developer wanted to build 16 residential units: eight two-bed detached homes and eight two-bed townhouses. Access to the site would have been via an upgraded entrance off Main Street. However, city planners rejected this on the basis that the East Gate junction is already busy and experiences delays. Planners said the proposed new development would “severely impact” the efficiency of the junction and exacerbate the traffic problems in the area. The Irish Examiner, 22nd July
Killiney, Co. Dublin Plans have been approved for a €55 million residential development on Church Road in Killiney, Co Dublin for the Marlet Property Group. The project comprises the construction of six apartment blocks providing a total of 255 units, comprising one studio apartment, 98 one-bed apartments, 137 two-bed apartments, 12 three-bed apartments and seven three-bed houses. A creche is also proposed for the project. Site clearance works have been carried out to prepare the site for construction. The Business Post, 25th July
Grangegorman, Dublin 7 An Bord Pleanála has issued a decision to grant planning permission with conditions to The Park Shopping Centre Limited to build a €48 million mixed-use district centre, student residential housing, and build-to-rent housing development in two buildings, a South Building and a North Building, separated by a new pedestrian and bicycle street connecting Prussia Street with the emerging Grangegorman SDZ campus. The buildings will range in height from three to five storeys on Prussia Street to six-storeys (South Building) to eight-storeys (North Building) towards the Grangegorman campus. The Jameson Gate Projects will see the creation of 30 apartment units and almost 600 student bed spaces. The Business Post, 25th July
Planning Submissions, Dublin Plans for more than 2,200 apartments across three sites in Dublin are due to be submitted to the planners this week. The largest development is in north Dublin, where a company owned by investment group Avestus Capital Partners will seek to fast-track plans for 1,221 apartments in Baldoyle though An Bord Pleanala. In Ringsend, the consortium behind the former Irish Glass Bottle site will submit plans for the first phase of 600 apartments to Dublin city council tomorrow. And on the southside of the city, Lioncor Developments is set to apply for planning permission to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown county council for 404 apartments in Carrickmines. The most long-awaited of the developments is that of the former Irish Glass Bottle site on the Poolbeg peninsula. The property has been earmarked for development since 2006 when developer Bernard McNamara and the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, a state body, purchased it for €412 million. The Sunday Times, 25th July
MIXED USE
Ballycureen, Cork A new residential and commercial development could be developed at Ballycureen on the southside of Cork city. Denis McBarron, leading a consortium, has lodged plans with Cork City Council for the construction of more than 130 residential units in a mixed-use residential and commercial development on the Kinsale Road, Ballycureen. The project includes proposals for 13 blocks, totalling some 134 residential units, as well as a restaurant, convenience retail outlet, gym, dentist, physio and hairdressers. The plan also includes a roof-top outdoor amenity and a creche. As part of the scheme, it is also proposed to build a 158-bed hotel, which would range in height from six to nine storeys, and include a swimming pool, gym, bar, cafe, restaurant and function room. The Irish Examiner, 22nd July
Stillorgan, Co. Dublin Following the completion of demolition works, main work is now under way on the construction of a €54 million, mixed-use development at the former Leisureplex site in Stillorgan, Co Dublin. The project, for Kennedy Wilson, will have a total of 232 build-to-rent apartment units, consisting of 109 two-bed units, 113 one-bed units and 10 studio units and will also provide for two retail shop units and four restaurant/café units. The Business Post, 25th July
OTHER
Ennis, Clare Planning has been lodged for a €1.2 billion data centre development on the outskirts of Ennis at Toreen, Cahernalough, Co Clare. The proposed development by Art Centre Data Centre Limited will include six data centre buildings, office space and associated works and will measure over 1.35m sq ft. The project is expected to create 250 data centre jobs and 1,200 jobs during the project’s construction phase and it is seen by Clare County Council as a key pillar of the Ennis 2040 Economic Plan for the area. Construction work is expected to commence in late 2022 and will be carried out over a phased six-year period. The Business Post, 25th July
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