16th December (Issue 527)
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.
MIXED US
Kevin Street, Dublin 8 Dublin City Council (“DCC”) has entered exclusive talks to buy Camden Yard, the stalled development on a prime site near St Stephen’s Green. The Sunday Times understands that the local authority has agreed to pay approx. €100m for the 3.6-acre site. The scheme, based on the former DIT campus on Kevin Street, has planning permission for 408,000 sq. ft of office space, 299 apartments, a one-acre park and a number of retail and restaurant units. Construction has started and a large, half-built concrete structure stands on the site. However, the local authority would look to knock down at least part of that structure and build mostly apartments on the site. The move would be a departure for DCC, which has not speculatively bought land for housing development in recent years. However, it is developing a number of its own sites, and redeveloping O’Devaney Gardens, after doing a deal with developer Bartra to build 1,000 homes. It is also involved in a number of new-build schemes and regeneration projects. Sources say that BGO, a secured lender which appointed a receiver to the site in December last year, is insisting on a tight exclusivity period. A €100m sale price would mean BGO, which provided the senior debt of €75m to fund the approx. €145m purchase of the site, would be repaid in full. An additional approx. €65m was spent on site excavation and construction. The Sunday Times, 14th December
HOTEL
Kilkenny City An Coimisiún Pleanála (“ACP”) has refused planning permission for a proposed development of a 67-bedroom hotel in the heart of Kilkenny city because of its negative impact on local residences. ACP reversed the decision of Kilkenny County Council to approve the planning application by Penny Pudding Limited to develop a multi-storey hotel on the corner of Pennyfeather Lane and Pudding Lane. It followed the lodging of two appeals by local residents and businesses against the council’s ruling. The proposed development had also provided for the demolition of the former Mulhall’s restaurant on the 0.14 acre site which is located in the city centre’s Architectural Conservation Area. The developers had sought permission to construct a six-storey hotel but a condition was imposed by council planners, which was unsuccessfully appealed by Penny Pudding Limited, that one floor should be omitted as part of securing approval for the project. However, ACP ruled that the proposed development by reason of its overall size, scale and mass together with its close proximity to homes to the immediate north of the site would seriously injure residential amenities of adjoining properties, notwithstanding the omission of one storey. ACP noted that the proposed development would be contrary to provisions of the Kilkenny City and County Development Plan 2021-2027 in relation to building heights and plot ratio. Rte.ie, 11th December
RETAIL
Grand Parade, Cork City Danish retailer Normal is to open at the former Argos store in the Queen’s Old Castle, ending six years of vacancy at one of Cork city centre’s most prominent retail spaces. Confirmation that the Nordic chain has taken out a lease on the 10,000 sq. ft unit, empty since Argos closed in 2019, signals another new arrival to Grand Parade, following on from confirmation last week that a Gala convenience store is to open at Singer’s Corner, empty since last May. The arrival of Normal is another welcome boost to Grand Parade where Cork City Council recently unveiled the new-look Bishop Lucey Park after a €7m upgrade. Normal is scheduled to open in the Spring. The retailer has had Ireland in its crosshairs for some time, according to chief executive Jakob Frolich Maarbjerg, who said in a recent newspaper interview that they also intend to open a store in Coolock, on Dublin’s north side. He indicated that they may eventually open up to 100 stores in Ireland. The Examiner, 12th December
Bunclody, Co. Wexford The busy Eurospar shop in Bunclody town has gone on the market for €1.295m through DNG. The property is located on Market Square and benefits from a commanding profile leading to strong footfall. The property was fully redeveloped in recent years. The ground floor unit is currently in use as retail space and is trading as a Eurospar supermarket comprising of commercial retail on the ground and first floor currently as stores and back office. Access for deliveries is located to the rear with on street parking to the front for customers, along Market Square itself. Besides the shop itself, there are four apartments, consisting of three two-bed room apartments and one one-bed apartment, which are all fully occupied and enjoying market rents. Tenancy details of the contract state that the lease period of the retail unit is 20 years. The Irish Independent, 11th December
OFFICE
Dublin Market Performance A total of 55 office lettings were registered in Dublin with the Property Price Register (“PPR”) between July 1st and November 11th this year. Almost half of these, 26, were lettings in Dublin 2, the area which is most popular for office lettings in the capital. The rest were spread across the city and suburbs. Among the larger lettings in Dublin 2 during the fourth quarter of the year was part of the first floor of Block D, at Irish Life’s 1GQ George’s Quay. According to the PPR, a 10-year lease was signed for an average annual rent of €350,192 pa. In Dublin 4 one of the most recent lettings saw property firm Rohan Group let out the ground floor of its 2 Grand Canal Plaza building at Grand Canal Street Upper for five years at an average annual rent of €419,624. Dublin 4 also saw the letting of 12,000 sq. ft at Glencar House, Merrion Road, Ballsbridge, which was developed by Killeen Properties. In this instance, the PPR shows that Jackson Square Aviation took a 15-year lease at an average annual rent of €784,062 during the third quarter of the year. The next busiest office district was Dublin 1 which includes the IFSC. One of Ireland’s largest property investors and developers, IPUT, announced in the third quarter that it has secured three new tenants for 3 Dublin Landings in North Docklands. Those had not been listed on the register by November 11th. The Irish Independent, 11th December
RESIDENTIAL/DEVELOPMENT
Malahide Road, Dublin 17 Glenveagh Homes is to lodge plans in the coming days for 1,350 residential units on lands adjoining Belcamp Hall off the Malahide Road. The move follows the builder purchasing €130m worth of property from Gannon Homes that includes the Belcamp site earlier this year. The Belcamp large-scale residential scheme (“LRD”) on a 119.5-acre site will comprise of 802 houses and 296 apartments across eight blocks ranging in height from three to five storeys. The scheme will also comprise of 252 walk-up apartments ranging in height from three to four storeys. The site adjoins Belcamp Hall and lies west of Malahide Road, north of the River Mayne. Glenveagh is seeking a 10-year planning permission from Fingal County Council in its LRD application. Gannon Homes had previously lodged strategic housing development plans in May 2022 to An Bord Pleanála for a 10-year permission for the construction of 2,527 residential units comprising 473 houses and 2,054 apartments. The firm withdrew the scheme in December of last year. The Irish Independent, 12th December
Ballyboden, Dublin 16 A Tidy Towns has taken its third legal challenge over planning approval for a development of more than 400 apartments near the Dublin mountains. Ballyboden Tidy Towns Group (BTTG), in a third judicial review over the proposed development at the former Augustinian seminary at Taylor’s Lane, wants orders overturning a permission granted last September by ACP. The permission, granted to Shannon Homes Dublin Unlimited Company, is for the development of 402 residential units. It is the third permission for the development, the previous two having been successfully challenged. The case will be heard next month. The BTTG and a local residents group got court orders in January 2022 overturning permission to build 486 apartments on the same plot. In its challenge to the third permission, BTTG claims it breaches domestic and European law. The Irish Times, 15th December
Residential-Zoned Land Tax Newly released data shows that the tax authority has collected over €14m in the new residential-zoned land tax (RZLT) owed by local authorities and state agencies for their own landholdings. The data, released by Revenue under freedom of information and provided by some bodies themselves, shows public bodies were liable for €19.5m during the first collection period of the new tax. The liability kicked in this February, replacing the largely ineffectual vacant site levy. Some costs were deferred or exemptions applied following back and forth with Revenue. The new 3% tax on the value of undeveloped land was introduced to discourage the hoarding of sites and spur the development of housing. The data shows that the bulk of the liability of public bodies is owed by local authorities, which were themselves tasked with drawing up maps of land subject to the tax. DCC has the biggest bill, coming in at €6.45m, according to Revenue data. To date, it has paid just over €3m of this liability. A council spokesperson confirmed that the tax was paid for 35 local authority-owned sites. It sought deferral of payment of the tax on 18 sites where planning permission has been granted and development has commenced, the spokesperson added. DCC’s own liability makes up a quarter of the total €25m due under the tax for 85 sites in its administrative area, stretching across the city centre. Overall, just €43.5m of the total tax liability of €119.9m owed this year has been paid to date. From 2,000 returns, the vast majority of deferrals, 413 cases with a combined liability of €63.4m, were for cases where construction has now begun. The tax was also deferred in cases where planning permission was granted, the owner appealed inclusion of their site in the tax net, or where there is a third-party appeal to ACP. Analysis of the data shows that private owners have availed of deferrals on a far greater scale than State bodies. Around 70% of the tax liability deferred this year, €70.9m of €98m deferred, concerned privately owned lands. The Currency, 15th December
Walkinstown, Dublin 12 Joseph Brennan Bakeries has secured planning permission for a sweeping overhaul and upgrade of its Walkinstown facility. Brennans applied for planning permission to South Dublin County Council earlier this year, looking to kick off a multi-year demolition, reconstruction and extension of its bakery. The plans received council approval last week. The business had grown over the last 50 years to employ over 200 staff and occupy an extensive site of over 5.9 acres at the Greenhills Industrial Estate. Having grown organically over the years, Brennans will develop a new 32,000 sq. ft bakery facility on the site of its existing car park. It also plans to build a new staff facility with offices and a 33,000 sq. ft van-loading building, complete with a green roof and solar panels. The planning approval was made subject to 24 conditions. The Irish Independent, 15th December
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