9th August (Issue 359)
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
Grand Canal Street, Dublin 2 Joint agents Bagnall Doyle MacMahon and CBRE have sold Becky Morgan’s pub on Grand Canal Street in Dublin 2 after a protracted closing period. It is understood the property sold for over its €1.3m guide price after a competitive bidding process. The property was eventually acquired by a consortium of business people headed up by publican John McCormack, who plans a major revamp in the coming weeks before re-opening. Becky Morgan’s, located in the heart of Googleland, is a long-established licensed premises which occupies a prominent trading position at the intersection of Grand Canal Street and Macken Street. The well-appointed, three-storey over basement property extends to c. 2,443 sq. ft. and comprises a ground floor lounge bar, a first floor bar/function room and a second floor catering kitchen. The Business Post, 5th August
Kinsale, Co Cork Admore Group is expected to start works soon building a new €8m distillery, brewery, bar and visitor centre for the family behind Blacks Brewery and Distillery in Kinsale, Co Cork. The complex is being built on a brown field site which was home to a T-shirt factory and before that a factory that made high-end sports cars, and previous to that a factory that made boats. Works are expected to take c. 18 months to complete. The Business Post, 5th August
Camden Quay, Cork Conack Construction in Limerick has commenced works on the development of a new €17.9m 3-star Moxy Hotel & Residence Inn at Camden Quay in Cork City. The 84,572 sq. ft. project will have a total of 194 bedrooms. The Business Post, 5th August
Stephens Green, Dublin 2 Average room rates at the five-star Shelbourne Hotel increased marginally between April and June, as the Dublin economy continued to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. The average daily rate at the hotel increased 2.7% to €356.43 during the second quarter of the year, according to the latest earnings from investment firm Kennedy Wilson, which owns the hotel. As much as 80% of hotel rooms in the city for June had been booked in advance by the end of May, according to industry group the Irish Hotels Federation. That is well up on the 65% of rooms booked at the same point in 2019. The Irish Times, 4th August
MIXED-USE
South Docks, Cork Cork City Council has granted conditional planning permission for an office and residential project costing at least €350m. O’Callaghan Properties originally revealed details of the project in November 2021, when the total cost of the investment was put at €350m, and although no current figures are available from the company, it is expected to now be higher due to construction inflation in the last six months. The project involves the construction of four new buildings, ranging in height from nine to 12 storeys, and will provide a total of more than 990,280 sq. ft. of development space which will include office, residential, retail and a 130-bed private hospital run by French group Orpea. According to market sources, the development will include c. 452,084 sq. ft. of office space and c. 161,460 sq. ft. of residential space, while the hospital will occupy c. 150,695 sq. ft. in a triangular-shaped, specially-designed building. The Irish Times, 2nd August
Abbey Street Upper, Dublin 1 Dublin City Council has given the green light for an 11-storey high hotel building on Dublin’s Abbey Street Upper. The 252-bedroom hotel is part of a mixed-use scheme by applicants Abbey Street DevCo Ltd that also includes a 10-storey, 222-bedroom apart-hotel fronting on to Great Stand Street. The scheme also includes two retail units at ground-floor level. The grant of planning permission for the mixed-use scheme follows An Bord Pleanála refusing planning permission for a build-to-rent apartment scheme comprising 227 apartments at the site in December 2021. Underlining the scale of the scheme, the city council has ordered the firm to pay planning contributions totalling €3.48m towards public infrastructure and the Luas C1 line scheme. The Irish Times, 2nd August
RESIDENTIAL / DEVELOPMENT
Housing Construction Delays The delivery of thousands of homes in central Dublin, including most of the 3,800 apartments being developed on the former Glass Bottle site by a Johnny Ronan-led consortium, is at risk due to water and electricity shortages. The group behind the project to develop the Glass Bottle site has issued a series of warnings to senior state officials through A&L Goodbody, the legal firm, that more than 2,000 homes in the project will be delayed for an undefined period due to matters outside their control. Memos sent to the Department of Housing and Dublin City Council said a required water pumping station will not be constructed by Irish Water for at least six years, which will stall the development of 2,293 homes. In the memos, the developers detailed other issues beyond Irish Water which they claim will also delay many homes. They said phase two of the Glass Bottle development will be delayed because of energy capacity constraints, and that it remains unclear when ESB can build the required infrastructure to supply power to the new homes. Several other developers, who are collectively overseeing the delivery of thousands of new homes in central Dublin, believe that the lack of certainty around timelines for electricity and water connections to their sites was putting completion dates at risk. The Business Post, 7th August
Parkwest, Dublin 12 Marblegate Limited has completed works on the €3m material alterations and change of use to the existing office Blocks 70 and 72 in Parkwest, Dublin 12. Works include an additional floor to both blocks and change of use to 84 open-plan residential apartments with a shared car park basement level, storage and plant areas. The Business Post, 5th August
Raheny, Dublin 5 Earlsfort Homes has begun works on site on the construction of the €23.1m seven-storey residential development (comprising four adjoining multi-storey cores) over a common single basement level and associated ESB substation at Station Road, Raheny, Dublin 5. The project breakdown provides for 51 one-bedroom apartments and 54 two-bedroom apartments. The Business Post, 5th August
Lehenaghmore, Cork Cork City Council has submitted a Part 8 Planning application for the construction of 45 houses at Lehenaghmore, a proposed €8.7m development in the city. It comprises the construction of a residential development of 14 three-bedroom, semi-detached houses, 21 three-bedroom townhouses and 10 two-bedroom townhouses. The development is situated on a 4.42-acre site in the townland of Lehenaghmore to the south of Cork city centre. A decision is expected to be made on the application by October. The Business Post, 5th August
Glanmire, Co Cork Cork City Council has submitted a Part 8 Planning application to build 78 apartments and two houses in Glanmire. The planned €12.8m development comprises building four three-storey blocks containing seven three-bedroom duplex apartments, three two-bedroom ground floor apartments, eight two-bedroom duplex apartment and 12 one-bedroom ground floor apartments. Two four-storey apartment blocks contain 16 three-bedroom apartments, 16 two-bedroom apartments and 16 one-bedroom apartments. The subdivision of the former three-storey Coach House will provide two two-bedroom units over two floors, with storage/bike parking at lower ground floor level. The Business Post, 5th August
Harold’s Cross, Dublin 6W The Adroit Company has submitted a planning application for a €30m Strategic Housing Development at Harold’s Bridge, Harold’s Cross Road, Dublin 6W. The proposed development provides for 194 dwellings comprised of studio, one, two and three-bed apartment four blocks of between two and nine storeys. The development also includes a commercial/retail unit at ground floor level of Block A, a creche at ground floor level of Block C and 22 artist work studios and exhibition space at ground and first floor level of Block D, all on a site area of 2.5 acres with a decision expected in November 2022. The Business Post, 5th August
Saggart, West Dublin Developer Tetrarch Capital has been granted approval for a residential development at Saggart, West Dublin. An Bord Pleanála gave the permission despite the Department of Defence’s objection due to concerns that the project could “negatively impact flight operations in the vicinity of Casement Aerodrome”. The development will provide 51 homes, 38 duplexes and 177 apartments and a creche at Mill Road, near Citywest Hotel. In granting approval, the board set 30 conditions, which include reducing the apartment block by two storeys. Tetrach originally proposed to build 275 homes and the total number has now been reduced. The Irish Times, 5th August
Rental Market The number of termination notices received by the Residential Tenancies Board rose by 58% in the first six months of 2022 compared to the previous six months. There were 2,913 eviction notices served so far in 2022 compared to 1,845 in the last six months of 2021. A ban on evictions during the lockdown periods of the Covid-19 pandemic last year lowered the number of termination notices. However, the eviction moratorium was lifted in April 2021, and numbers have been rising significantly since then. The figures were released by the Residential Tenancies Board. The Irish Times, 8th August
Walkinstown, Dublin 12 An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission for a 12-storey, 633 unit build-to-rent scheme beside Brennan’s bakery in Walkinstown. Steeplefield Ltd had sought permission for four apartment blocks ‘at the former Chadwicks builder’s yard that forms part of the Greenhill industrial estate in Walksintown, Dublin 12. The scheme is made up of 292 one-bedroom apartments, 255 two-bedroom four person units, 25 two-bedroom three person units and 61 three bedroom units. An Bord Pleanála refused planning permission on several grounds. In its decision to refuse, the appeals board stated that the proposed development in its current form “would be contrary to the REGEN zoning objective for the site”. The Irish Times, 2nd August
OTHER
Banagher, Co Offaly It is understood that the €40m abattoir extension to Banagher Chilling Abattoir in Co Offaly has been escalated to the High Court following the approval of the scheme in June 2022 by An Bord Pleanála. The project includes a 92,333 sq. ft. extension to the abattoir and the construction of a food processing factory of 53,012 sq. ft. with a partial first floor of 24,746 sq. ft. That includes processing rooms, cold store, loading bay, chill rooms, plant rooms, staff changing rooms, staff canteen and administration offices. The Business Post, 5th August
Arklow, Co Wicklow An Bord Pleanála has approved planning permission for the development of the €28m Arklow Flood Relief Scheme in Co Wicklow. The scheme has been designed to withstand a one in 100-year flood event from the Avoca River (fluvial) as well as a one in 200-year tidal flood event. The Business Post, 5th August
Kent Station, Cork Iarnród Éireann has applied to Cork City Council seeking permission for extensions and alterations to the existing Kent Station, across c. 147,735 sq. ft. The proposed development works, taking place within the curtilage of the protected structure, are designed to facilitate the through-running of commuter services. They include a double-sided, 220m long, and 6m extension to the existing platform 5, which will increase the existing platform and result in the creation of a new platform 6. The reinstatement of a disused platform and the removal of a redundant signal cabin are also proposed. Planners at Cork City Council will assess the plans over the coming weeks, with a decision due by September 21st. The Irish Examiner, 4th August
Local Authority Home Loan Scheme More than half the applications made under the Government’s Local Authority Home Loan scheme so far this year have been rejected. The scheme, which provides State-backed mortgages to first-time buyers and fresh-start applicants who have been refused a mortgage or offered insufficient finance from traditional lenders, is one of several Government initiatives to help people get on the property ladder. It provides mortgages for up to 90% of the market value of the property. The Housing Agency assesses the applications but the relevant local authorities have the final say. Figures obtained from the Department of Housing show that of the 1,310 applications received and assessed between January and the end of June this year, 586 were recommended for approval while 724 (55% of the total) were recommended for rejection. Cork County Council received the most applications (144) followed by Dublin City Council (117), South Dublin (88); Louth (85) and Fingal (84). The Irish Times, 8th August
Unoccupied Properties, Ireland The majority of 108 unoccupied properties and sites in the Office of Public Works (OPW) portfolio have been vacant since at least 2013, while a small number have lain unused for almost half a century. The Minister of State for the OPW, Patrick O’Donovan, has disclosed there are 70 vacant buildings in the OPW portfolio and 38 unused sites. 47 of the vacant properties are Garda stations and residences, closed in 2012 and 2013 as part of the austerity programme of the Fine Gael and Labour coalition. After a decade of lying idle, most of the former Garda stations were now being considered for transfer to local authorities or for sale. A total of 20 are described as being prepared for disposal by auction or sale during 2022 or 2023. The Irish Times, 7th August
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