2nd June (Issue 249)

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.

 

 

RESIDENTIAL / LAND

Cork City An Bord Pleanála has given the green light for plans to construct 753 residential units in Ballyvolane on the northside of Cork city in spite of its own inspector recommending that planning permission be refused. The scheme is made up of 531 homes and 222 apartments on lands located in the townland of Lahardane, 3km north of Cork city. The developers were seeking a 10-year planning permission for the development over six phases that will also include a local centre that includes retail, a doctor’s surgery, a creche and community centre. However, the appeals board has granted a seven-year permission in order to speed up the delivery of the homes. The decision has 32 conditions attached. The Irish Examiner, 29th May

Goatstown, Dublin 14 Charjon Investments Ltd has entered formal consultation with An Bord Pleanála for 290 apartments and a four-star, 50-bedroom hotel on lands adjacent to the Goat pub in south Dublin. The Irish Times understands that the apartments will be built in four blocks and would be sold on the open market rather than through the buy-to-rent model. There was an unsuccessful planning application lodged at the site 15 years ago. The Irish Times, 28th May

Donnybrook, Dublin 4 Cairn Homes has lodged a planning application to build 611 apartments, three town houses, a creche, cafes and other amenities on the former RTÉ Montrose site in Donnybrook. Cairn has applied for permission to build the homes under the fast-track strategic planning scheme for large housing projects. The land was bought for €103 million in 2017, significantly more than the original guide price of €75 million. The Irish Times, 27th May

South Circular Road, Dublin 8 41 social housing units will be clustered in a 49-unit block of the development, as opposed to spread throughout the complex at the new Player Wills residential development. Plans have been submitted to build 416 homes on the former Player Wills and Bailey Gibson site. The units, off South Circular Road, will be spread across five residential blocks. Hines’s planning application said they “reserve their right” to lease the social housing units to the state as opposed to sell and they would rent the homes to the state for a period of 15 years. The Sunday Business Post, 31st May

Lotus Investment Group has appointed receivers over a number of the assets of housebuilder Victoria Homes, company documents show. The assets include the Corrybeg Way development in Templeogue, Co Dublin and a residential house in Athgarvan in Co Kildare which is held by a related company called Ladywell Homes. Victoria Homes bought the land in 2016 for c.€4.8 million. The Sunday Business Post, 31st May

 

MIXED-USE

Cork City Plans to revamp the former Moore’s Hotel in Cork city have been hit with a delay. The proposal which was approved by Cork City Council in recent weeks has been appealed to An Bord Pleanála. Approval was granted to demolish a number of existing buildings and to conserve and restore three protected structures on Morrison’s Quay to accommodate three new office buildings. The plan also included the construction of a four- to six-storey mixed-use office and hotel development, containing some 183 bedrooms. It had been previously reported this would be operated by the Premier Inn brand. The Irish Examiner, 27th May

 

OFFICE

Sandyford, South Dublin A private Irish investor has paid €1.35 million to acquire Unit 3 at Sandyford Business Park in south Dublin. The property which extends to 4,660 sq.ft. with 10 car parking spaces is fully let to Phone Watch Limited under a 35-year full repairing and insuring (FRI) lease from 1991, with no breaks at a passing rent of €100,000 per annum. There are six years remaining on the current lease, and the property has the benefit of “upward-only” rent reviews. The Irish Times 27th May

Dublin Office Market Leases for a third of the office space agreed in the first quarter of 2020 have fallen through or been placed on hold since the Covid-19 outbreak, according to a survey of the Dublin office market from Savills. Savills Ireland said of the Q1 agreements on new leases for 952,046 sq.ft. of office space, some 166,410 sq.ft. had fallen through, with 147,788 sq.ft. postponed indefinitely “pending greater certainty on the impact of Covid-19.” The report found that only six lease deals have concluded since the onset of restrictions, including software firm Guidewire’s take-up of 85,000 sq.ft. of space in Blanchardstown. The Irish Independent, 2nd June

Burlington Plaza, Dublin 2 The Irish Independent understands that Amazon is in talks to lease an office building with space for up to 750 workers at the 2 Burlington Plaza office block in central Dublin. The building which extends to almost 75,000 sq.ft. is currently occupied by Bank of Ireland. The company already has offices nearby in the Burlington Plaza complex and is in the process of setting up its first fulfilment centre in Ireland on the outskirts of the city. The Irish Independent, 30th May

IPUT has secured a new and increased revolving credit facility of €300 million from Wells Fargo Bank, an increase of €50 million. Some €200 million of the funds raised will be used specifically for ‘green’ projects that meet a defined set of sustainability criteria under Iput’s “green finance framework”. The most notable project in this regard is the company’s ongoing development of LinkedIn’s new European headquarter campus at Wilton Park in Dublin 2. Due for completion in 2023, the 600,000 sq.ft. mixed-use scheme will comprise 580,000 sq.ft. of grade A office space, all of which will carry BER A3 energy certifications. Iput also raised an additional €200 million from 11 institutional investors in the US private placement market in the first quarter of this year. The Irish Times, 27th May

 

HOSPITALITY

The Sunday Business Post reports that Dublin is at risk of missing out on “big spender” tourists if it does not address the shortage of five-star hotel accommodation. Prominent figures within the hospitality industry have written to Dublin City Council to express support for plans to convert the former direct provision centre in Hatch Hall into a five-star hotel. The property has been acquired by Red Carnation Hotels, a South African-based firm that operates the Ashford Castle hotel in Mayo, for a price in the region of €20 million. The Sunday Business Post, 31st May

 

OTHER

County Wicklow Primary Health Properties (PHP) is to invest €18 million in a new purpose-built primary care centre in Co Wicklow. The Irish Times understands that lease agreements had been signed for an initial 30-year term with the HSE and a local GP practice for use of the centre in Arklow. The property is due for completion at the end of 2021. The acquisition increases the company’s portfolio of operations in the Republic to 17. It has 511 centres across the whole group internationally. The portfolio’s gross value is just under £2.5 billion with a contracted rent roll of £132 million. PHP has said it intends to invest up to €300 million in Irish acquisitions up to the end of 2021. The Irish Times, 27th May

 


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