30th April (Issue 194)
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
Blackrock, Co. Dublin Two south Dublin office blocks, Zurich House and Blackrock Hall have been acquired for a reported €10.2m. The purchase is believed to have been funded through senior debt from Finance Ireland and equity from Blackbee. Rents for the two properties (33,584 sq.ft.) generate €845k p.a. in income. Zurich will vacate the buildings in 2021 and there are a number of potential uses for the site including the possibility of converting the properties into a hotel. Irish Times, 24th April
Knight Frank, Dublin Office Market Overview Q1 2019 reports that 1.4 million sq.ft. of office space transacted in Q1, setting a new bar for office occupier activity in an opening quarter of a year. 85% ahead of the take-up achieved in Q1 2018, which itself had set a new record for Q1 activity. The largest deal was the pre-letting of 430,000 sq.ft. at Spencer Place to Salesforce, which was the biggest single letting in the history of the State. The second largest deal was the sale of No.4 & No.5 Dublin Landings to the Irish Central Bank which together extend to 201,000 sq.ft., with completion due for later this year.
Malt House South, Grand Canal Quay, Dublin 2 Plans by a company associated with businessman, Denis O’Brien to construct a five floor vertical extension making Malt House South a nine storey building on Grand Canal Quay in Dublin’s Docklands have been put on hold. The Council informedJepview Ltd that the planned increase in floors at the building “could be overly dominant and would not sit comfortably above the existing protected structure.” The Council also requested that Jepview Ltd respond to concerns expressed by Irish Rail over the plan. Jepview Ltd believe however, that “the contemporary design of the building is deliberately different from the historic structure and will enhance the protected structure below it.” The Irish Times, 25th April
RESIDENTIAL
Monkstown, Co. Dublin The McGrath Group has received planning for 56 apartments at the former Richmond Cheshire Home 2.34 acre site at Richmond Park, Monkstown. These will be built in two, four-storey blocks and 24 of the units will be one-bed, 24 will be two-bed and there will be eight three-bed units. The Irish Independent, 25th April
Rathgar, Dublin 6 DNG are listing €2.25m (€570 psf) for a double-fronted period red-brick residence in Rathgar, Dublin 6. 17 Orwell Park, is a two story semi-detached property comprising five bedrooms and five bathrooms covering 3,950 sq.ft. The Sunday Business Post, 28th April
Spencer Dock, Dublin Docklands Johnny Ronan’s Spencer Place Limited, has lodged an application to An Bord Pleanála for a €350m residential development in Dublin’s Docklands consisting of 576 residential units at Spencer Dock. The proposed development would be on a site bounded by Sheriff Street Upper to Wapping Street, Dublin 1. The Irish Times, 26th April
Dublin Property Prices remained flat in the first quarter of this year compared to last year, new research shows, indicating a slowdown in the market. An analysis of the property price register by search engine Perfect Property found that the average sale price of a house in Dublin in the first quarter of 2018 was €417,037 while the average in the same period this year was €418,429, an increase of just 0.33%. The average current listing price on their platform at the start of the second quarter of 2019 fell to €372,000. The Irish Times, 29th April
Airton Road and Belgard Road, Tallaght, Dublin 24 The directors of Power Scaffolding Supplies Limited plan to develop 345 apartments, a crèche and a media and business centre on a site on the corner of Airton Road and Belgard Road in Tallaght, Dublin 24. The dwellings are designed for the build-to-rent market and would be developed in four blocks ranging in height from five to 10 storeys. The apartments will comprise 82 one-bed units, 255 two-bed units and eight three-bed units. The combined floor areas of the apartments and crèche will extend to c. 279,000 sq.ft. The Irish Independent, 25th April
An Bord Pleanála Applications A number of large applications were lodged with An Bord Pleanála under the Government’s fast-track planning rules. Oxley Holdings lodged plans for 697 build-to-rent apartments at Connolly Station car park at Sheriff Street Lower. Parsis Ltd lodged plans with the appeals board for 144 apartments in Sutton. Crodaun Developments Ltd entered a consultation phase with the appeals board regarding their plans to construct 495 dwellings in Celbridge, Co.Kildare. In Cork, HQ Developments are seeking planning for 302 residential units at Horgan’s Quay, Railway Street. Seamus and Evelyn Scally are to lodge planning for 118 build-to rent-apartments on a site bounded by South City Link Road, Rockboro Road and Gasworks Road in Cork city. In Oranmore Co. Galway, Arlum Ltd is to seek planning for 212 units. The Irish Times, 26th April
HOTEL
40 – Tara Street Tower, Dublin 2 A number of potential hotel operators are being considered for Ronan Group Real Estate’s 22 storey Tara Street Tower, including Richard Branson’s new Virgin Hotels. Under the terms of its existing planning permission, the proposed 22-storey building will include a 106-bedroom hotel extending to 47,953 sq.ft. across floors one to four. The Irish Times 24th April
MIXED USE
LRC Group has paid c.€150m to acquire 600 residential and commercial assets from Oaktree affiliate, Targeted Investment Opportunities. The deal will see LRC take ownership of hundreds of buy-to-let homes across Dublin, Cork and Galway, as well as a small number of commercial properties. The purchase of this portfolio brings the number of residential properties it owns and controls across Dublin and Ireland’s other main cities to just over 1,600. The Irish Times understands that the portfolio is fully buy-to-let and 80% occupied, with its composition comprising a mix of apartments, houses and a small number of pre-63 period houses. The Irish Times, 24th April
Butterly Business Park, Artane, Dublin has come to the market through agents Quinn & Agnew with a reported asking price in excess of €16.5m. The Business Park spans to nearly 160,000 sq.ft. Currently, rental income is c. €1.4m p.a. with 70,000 sq.ft. of vacant space available. The site also has a ten-year planning permission for mixed-use development, which would consist of commercial space and 178 dwellings. The Sunday Business Post, 28th April
OTHER
Commercial Property Sector Cushman & Wakefield reports that €2.5bn will likely be invested in the commercial property sector this year, down from €3.2bn in 2018. Cushman & Wakefield expects c. 2.7m sq.ft. of commercial space to be occupied in Dublin by the end of 2019. There was a solid opening to the Irish investment market in the first quarter of 2019, with turnover of €507.8m reported across 29 deals. The Irish Times, 25th April
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