Tara Street, Dublin 2 College Square, the office scheme developed by Marlet Property Group, has been selected by Workday for its new European headquarter office. The US enterprise technology giant has agreed to occupy 475,000 sq. ft of the office accommodation at College Square. The deal is understood to be the largest single office letting to have taken place in the European office market since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. The Irish Times, 27th August
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 Fine Grain Property, an Irish company with roots in Singapore, is poised to acquire Connaught House. Agents acting on behalf of Grant Thornton were guiding €80m for Connaught House. It is understood that the property, which has a rent roll of €7.1m, is under offer to Fine Grain for €63m (20% discount), and approx. half the valuation placed on the property as recently as 2022. Tenants include CBRE, Macquarie Aviation Finance and drug company Alkermes. The Sunday Times, 25th August
North Docks, Dublin 1 North Docks One and Two is set to sell for €85m to Starwood. Receiver Interpath Advisory was seeking €130m for the offices. The properties were on sale for €155m a year ago. Owners Oaktree Capital Management and the National Asset Management Agency will get wiped in the deal, losing €35m. Senior lender Pimco, which appointed the receivers and is owed €120m, also faces a haircut. The Sunday Times, 25th August
Fitzwilliam Street Lower, Dublin 2 Law firm Addleshaw Goddard will move into a new office block at Fitzwilliam No.28 from January 2025, with the new build block serving as the firm’s Dublin headquarters. The firm signed a 14-year lease with SMBC Aviation Capital, who acquired the block’s entire footprint in late 2022. Addleshaw Goddard will take over an entire floor at the premises, alongside leasing a portion of the second floor. Its total leased footprint will come up to 27,722 sq. ft. The Business Post, 22nd August
Sligo International Workplace Group (IWG) is planning to open its first co-working office space in Connacht later this year. The hybrid working solutions provider, which operates under the brands Regus and Spaces, has plans to open the flexible workspace in the Embankment building in Sligo Town. The space will operate under IWG’s Regus brand and include co-working spaces, private offices, meeting rooms and creative spaces. The new location, situated on Rockwood Parade, is set to open in the last quarter of this year. The Business Post, 23rd August
Mount Juliet, Co Kilkenny Barry English is swooping to buy the Mount Juliet resort for approx. €50m. English is believed to be in exclusive talks to buy the Kilkenny estate from Tetrarch Capital and the businessman Emmet O’Neill. The estate agents JLL Ireland gave a guide price of €45m for the 125-bedroom hotel. Tetrarch, which also owns CityWest Hotel in Dublin, is understood to have paid €15m for it in 2014 but has since made substantial investment in the hotel and estate. The Sunday Times, 25th August
Temple Bar, Dublin 2 A planning appeal has heard that if An Bord Pleanála was to refuse planning retention for Temple Bar ‘superpub’ The Giddy Dolphin, it would lead to the closure of the premises and the loss of jobs. Keywell DAC is appealing against Dublin City Council’s planning refusal to retain The Giddy Dolphin as a licensed premises. Since March of this year, Keywell is the new owner of the Clarence Hotel and Dollard House which houses The Giddy Dolphin, 2-5 Wellington Quay and 1-5 Essex Street East, Dublin 2. The Irish Independent, 27th August
Grafton Street, Dublin 2 Fashion giant Mango is planning on opening a new shop on Dublin’s Grafton Street as its Irish expansion continues to gather pace. The Barcelona-headquartered clothing retailer has applied for planning permission from Dublin City Council. Mango’s existing city centre store in Dublin, on Henry Street, is temporarily closed until September for refurbishment. The Irish Independent, 22nd August
Kinsale, Co Cork An Bord Pleanála has granted Aldi Ireland full planning permission for a new €11m store in Kinsale. The new development will have a gross floor area spanning 19,579 sq. ft. Cork County Council had previously granted local authority planning permission for the project, which includes 102 car parking spaces, 24 bike spaces and four electric vehicle charging points. The development, located at New Road & Barrack Street, in Kinsale, will also include a single-storey retail building with a gross retail area of 2,432 sq. ft. The Irish Examiner, 20th August
Grange Castle Business Park, Dublin 22 Google has been refused permission to build a new data centre in south county Dublin. The tech giant’s application to build the 779,307 sq. ft data storage facility at its existing Dublin operation was refused on several grounds, including concerns over insufficient capacity in the electricity network. In June, Google Ireland Limited applied for permission to build a new data centre in Grange Castle Business Park South. The Business Post, 27th August
Limerick Siec Group, a Chinese-owned property development firm, has acquired a large parcel of land in Limerick that is primed for a €100m housing project. The land, based in Raheen, Co Limerick, has full planning permission for 384 homes and was bought for a fee of approx. €4.5m by Siec Group. A ten-year permission was secured to build 202 houses and 182 apartments on the lands in June 2022. At the time, the project was valued at €109m. The Business Post, 26th August
Dún Laoghaire, South Dublin Dublin’s longest running strategic housing development planning case, a build-to-rent application that involved the construction of several storeys of apartments on top of a protected Victorian house, has been refused by An Bord Pleanála. Ted Living Ltd in November 2021 applied for fast-track permission for 146 rental-only apartments in blocks up to eight storeys on the old Tedcastles Yard industrial site in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin. As part of the scheme the developer wanted to remove the roof of the protected structure and build three storeys of apartments on top of it. The Irish Times, 21st August
Mortgage Rates Homeowners who took out home loans with the non-bank lenders are set to be hit with increases of up to 3.5% in the interest on their ¬mortgages when their fixed rates end. It is estimated that approx. 80,000 homeowners are due to come to the end of fixed rates this year. The Irish Independent Doddl.ie Mortgage Switching Index shows that while some pillar banks have reduced their rates by approx. 1%, non-bank lenders are stuck at the height of the market due to different funding models. It means mortgage holders with these institutions could face repayment rates of over 6% when they exit their fixed arrangements. The Irish Independent, 26th August
Housing Taoiseach Simon Harris has said that approx. 40,000 new homes would be completed this year and reiterated his pledge to build a quarter of million new homes over the next five years. In a speech delivered at the annual Michael Collins commemoration at Béal na Bláth in Co Cork on Sunday, Mr Harris said: “This year, we will exceed our housing targets with almost 40,000 homes built. This includes the biggest social housing build since 1975.” The Irish Times, 25th August
Usher’s Island, Dublin 8 An Taisce has told Dublin City Council that the building where James Joyce’s The Dead was set “is of too great a cultural heritage importance for conversion to multiple apartments”. That is according to An Taisce’s Dublin city planning officer Kevin Duff as part of its objection concerning plans by Brimwood UC to convert the property at 15 Usher’s Island, in Dublin 8, into 10 apartments. The Irish Independent, 27th August
Daft Report According to a report by Daft.ie, market rents rose by an average of 2% compared with the first three months of the year. The move marks the 14th consecutive quarter in which rents nationwide have increased and the 45th time in the last 48 quarters. The average open-market rent nationwide in the second quarter of the year was €1,922 per month, up 7.3% YoY and 41% higher than before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. On August 1st, there were just over 2,200 homes available to rent across the State, effectively unchanged on the same date a year previously and half the 2015-2019 average of 4,400. The Irish Times, 26th August
Sandymount, Dublin 4 Oaktree will seek an equity partner for the Glass Bottle housing development, it has emerged. The project, which will see the construction of 3,800 homes on the Sandymount plot, as well as the equivalent of a skyscraper of office and life science space, is being developed by Oaktree in collaboration with Johnny Ronan’s Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE) and Lioncor, a development company jointly owned by Oaktree and Dublin-based Alanis Capital. The Glass Bottle plot measures approx. 37 acres. The Business Post, 23rd August
Vacant Site Levy Dublin City Council is waiting on property owners who have been singled out for vacant site levies to pay up tens of millions of euros, with some levies dating back to 2018. New data released to the Business Post by Dublin City Council has shown there are 135 of these levies that are still unpaid. Dublin City Council added that these landowners have failed to pay a collective €35m in levies to date. Dublin City Council itself also has sites it controls listed. Based on the register, Dublin City Council owns €57.79m worth of vacant property, which means that they are required to pay €8.25m in levies. The Business Post, 23rd August
An Bord Pleanála The maximum number of ordinary board members that may be appointed to the board of An Bord Pleanála has been temporarily increased from 14 to 17, the Minister for Housing has announced. Darragh O’Brien said the rise in membership will allow for the reduction of cases on hand within the board. The Fianna Fáil TD also said that he has appointed eight new full-term ordinary board members to the board following an open recruitment process. The Irish Times, 26th August
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Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 BlackRock is understood to be closing in on a deal to occupy office space at Glencar House in Ballsbridge as its new Dublin headquarters. While the terms of the deal have yet to be finalised, The Irish Times understands that BlackRock will occupy 22,000 sq. ft distributed across the third and fourth floors of the building on a 10-year lease at a blended rent of approx. €65 per sq. ft. The property comprises 75,000 sq. ft of grade-A office accommodation. It was developed by Killeen Properties. The Irish Times, 16th August
Avoca, Co Wicklow The Woodenbridge Hotel & Lodge, situated in the Vale of Avoca, has been acquired by the directors of the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel in Killiney. The Woodenbridge Hotel features 69 bedrooms, spread across 49 bedrooms in its lodge and 20 rooms in its hotel. It also features a 200-capacity function room, a private dining room for up to 50 people and a bistro bar that can accommodate 150. It also has 11 links golf courses in close proximity, as well as the Woodenbridge Golf Club. The Business Post, 13th August
Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 Strategic Value Partners is set to acquire Blanchardstown Shopping Centre in a €650m deal. Goldman Sachs has agreed a deal to sell the asset after putting it on the market last year via CBRE and Eastdil Secured. Goldman Sachs took control of it from Blackstone at the end of 2020, when it was valued at approx. €750m in late 2020. The bank invested a further €60m into the asset via upgrading works. The asset comprises the main two-level shopping mall, comprising more than 180 retail units and anchored by several large tenants. It also includes two adjacent retail parks and external retail units, as well as a five-floor office building spanning approx. 72,000 sq. ft. Green Street News, 15th August
Dundrum, Dublin 14 Rothesay is the new cornerstone lender of Dundrum Town Centre, with the pension insurer contributing approx. €175m. The two incumbent lenders, BNP Paribas and Deka Bank, have also participated in the refinancing deal through a commitment of €175m, which they’ve split equally. As part of the refinancing, Dundrum’s owners Hammerson and Pimco Prime have had to pay approx. €220m back to lenders in the previous facility to bridge the gap on the outstanding €570m loan. The new seven-year term-loan is repayable on or before the maturity in September 2031 at an all-in interest cost expected to be approx. 5.5%. Green Street News, 14th August
Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE) is poised to buy back two Grafton Street landmarks, including the Bewley’s Café, in a multi-property deal that is in advanced negotiations. RGRE is also set to buy the building housing Permanent TSB and its stake in St James House on Adelaide Road in Dublin 2, and Percy Exchange, on Percy Place in Dublin 4. The buildings were co-owned with Davy, which is understood will retain its stake in both properties. The Business Post understands that the proposed purchases are being financed by RGRE and not with investment from Landfair. The Business Post, 18th August
Cork Bottleworks, a student accommodation, in Cork city, is due to open. The student accommodation took three years to build and is opening a year behind schedule. It is backed by US investment management firm CA Ventures. Bottleworks is a 623 bed PBSA and spans 207,388 sq. ft on a site of 1.58 acres. Prices range from €240 to €450 per week. The Irish Examiner, 18th August
CBRE Analysis The top five data centre markets in Europe fared well in the second quarter of this year according to CBRE’s latest analysis. Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin recorded a 9.8% vacancy rate, more than 10% lower than the 2019 level of 20.6%. CBRE expects the vacancy rate in these primary markets to settle at 7.9% this year. Pre-leasing deals secured before 2024 are expected to play a key role in boosting take-up this year, likely to account for 68% of the total take-up across 15 European markets. Green Street News, 16th August
Phibsborough, Dublin 7 An 80-unit block of apartments in Phibsborough in north Dublin city has been granted approval by Dublin City Council. Garvagh Homes is seeking to demolish the 1950s building currently at the 168-169 Phibsborough Road site. The new building will contain 41 two-bed apartments, with the remainder split between studio and one-bed units and one three-bed apartment and a central amenity space provided for residents. The development also has a 20,989 sq. ft ground floor retail space, alongside a café, with 28 parking spaces, half of which will be for the retail units. It will also have 186 bike parking spaces. The Business Post, 13th August
Blackrock, South Dublin A Paddy McKillen Jr-linked property firm has lodged plans with An Bord Pleanála for a 493-apartment scheme, after its previous housing scheme on the site was quashed by the High Court. Oval Target has applied to build the scheme, on a site previously owned by a religious order at Temple Hill, Blackrock. The strategic housing development will consist of 11 apartment blocks, between two and 10-storeys. They will consist of 220 one-bed apartments, 208 two-beds, 47 three-bed units and 18 studio apartments. The Business Post, 15th August
Rental Market In a pre-budget submission to finance minister Jack Chambers, the Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers (IPAV) said there was a “phenomenon” of landlords leaving their properties empty for a two-year period, to apply market rent. Under current rules, landlords in cities can only raise rent by 2% annually, but if the property is out of the market for two years, the rent can be increased beyond this cap. It has estimated that for every 100 properties taken out of the market by landlords for a two-year period, the loss to the Exchequer in tax is €2.5m. The Business Post, 19th August
Second Hand Property Supply The supply of second-hand properties for sale in Ireland has fallen by approx. a third since the pandemic, according to estate agent Sherry FitzGerald. The company also said it expects house prices to increase in value this year by 6-8%. In its latest analysis, the company said there were just 12,785 second-hand properties listed for sale in July, equating to just 0.6% of the State’s entire private housing stock. This was 7% down on the same month last year and 29% below the level seen in the summer of 2020 at the height of the pandemic. The Irish Times, 20th August
Tax Relief The Government has been urged to reintroduce Section 23 tax breaks for builders and developers in the upcoming budget in a bid to boost the supply of rental properties. Under the original tax-relief scheme, which was discontinued after the crash, investors were allowed generous tax breaks for renovating or buying properties for the rental market. IPAV said the relief would enable an investor to offset taxable rental income for buying a new property for rental purposes. Under the original provision full rental relief was generally contingent upon the property being let for 10 years. The Irish Times, 19th August
Quintain Lone Star, the US private equity firm, has confirmed the sale of its Irish property business Quintain to Texas firm TPG for approx. €200m. The deal will include the Quintain Developments Ireland platform and its land holdings in Adamstown, Clonburris and Portmarnock in Dublin. TPG said the Quintain sites can accommodate the development of more than 7,700 residential units. Lone Star, meanwhile, will retain control of Quintain’s Cherrywood project, which has the potential to deliver approx. 3,000 homes, sources confirmed. The Irish Times, 15th August
Social Housing It would cost approx. €35bn to build new, appropriate, permanent social housing for everyone with an ongoing need, the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) of the Houses of the Oireachtas has estimated. In a new report it calculates that there were 115,425 households with an “ongoing need” for permanent, State-supported housing at the end of 2023. It says this comprises 58,824 eligible households on the main social housing waiting list in addition to 56,601 tenancies under the housing assistance payment (Hap) programme. The Irish Times, 19th August
Blackstone has extended a €900m facility used to acquire Green REIT in Ireland, with sponsor Henderson Park making an equity injection as part of the agreement, Green Street News can reveal. Blackstone has locked in a two-year extension for the financing, while Henderson Park has contributed approx. €110m of additional equity into the portfolio. Henderson Park bought the portfolio, which includes a mixed-used portfolio incorporating significant office exposure that is predominantly concentrated in Dublin, in 2019 for €1.35bn. Green Street News, 15th August
George’s Dock, Dublin 1 A group campaigning for a heated public swimming pool at George’s Dock is finalising a new feasibility study to present to Dublin city council after its initial proposal was rejected last year. The Dublin City Lido is an unfunded charity and has received advice from architects, quantity surveyors, consultants and engineers and said the new lido project would involve an accessible, heated, 50-metre swimming pool, as well as a teaching pool, sauna, public seating and floating decks, a café and community space. The Sunday Times, 18th August
Foreign Investments Ireland is “excluding itself from consideration” for large-scale investments due to its chronic infrastructure and skills gaps, Martin Shanahan has warned. Shanahan, the head of industry and foreign direct investment at Grant Thornton, said utilities and infrastructure are entry-level requirements for investors and that these issues will make it difficult to attract investment. Shanahan highlighted the council’s most recent report, Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge, which highlights key issues facing the country such as vulnerability of FDI given global developments; the slow pace of progress on infrastructure development; the skills challenges facing Ireland; and the elevated cost of doing business in this country. The Business Post, 19th August
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Docklands, Dublin 2 Apple has done a deal for a short-term let on an office in Dublin’s Docklands as it continues its search for a more permanent premises in the capital. It has signed a two and a half-year sublease on the first floor of No. 5 Hanover Quay with DocuSign. It will pay an annual rent of approx. €1.4m, according to the property price register. The space measures just under 24,391 sq. ft, which could accommodate up to 250 employees. It is believed that Apple is searching for 69,965 sq. ft for up to 700 staff. The Sunday Times, 11th August
Workday has now focused its search for a new 300,000 sq. ft EMEA headquarters in Dublin on two sites. Kennedy Wilson and Cain International’s Coopers Cross development, where two buildings totalling close to 400,000 sq. ft have been built, is one of the sites still in the running. Building Two is a 288,000 sq. ft grade A office block. Workday is also looking at College Square, a 540,000 sq. ft office development by Marlet Group. Approx. 325,000 sq. ft of office space is currently marketed as available at the Tara Street project. Green Street News, 12th August
Baldonnel, South Dublin National Vehicle Distribution (NVD), a company that transports new and used cars to garages, is looking to build a huge logistics hub at one of its facilities in south Dublin. NVD Trading submitted plans to change the use of lands near one of its vehicle distribution centres in Baldonnel from a car park to a logistics warehouse campus. The proposed development includes four new logistics/warehouse units with a combined gross floor area of over 215,278 sq. ft. The Irish Independent, 11th August
North Wall Quay, Dublin 1 Ronan Group Real Estate is seeking permission for 550 new homes and two office buildings on the last undeveloped riverside site in Dublin’s North Docklands. The 1.5m sq. ft development will include three residential blocks rising to eight, 12 and 25 storeys and 373,000 sq. ft of office space next to the nine-storey, 461,000 sq. ft Citi headquarters, which is currently under construction. The Irish Times, 8th August
Accounts After-tax losses at iNua Hospitality Plc, a holding company in the group that operates approx. eight of iNua’s 20 venues across the Republic, widened to approx. €6.3m last year from €3.9m. The increase was driven by one-off costs of more than €3m associated with the refinancing of the group’s debt. Meanwhile, iNua’s operating profits before the one-off €3m costs linked to the refinancing increased to €3.9m in 2023 from €2.4m on revenues of €72.8m, up 6.7% from 2022. Total occupancy for the eight hotels in the group was 83% last year. The Irish Times, 12th August
Vacant Pub Conversion According to the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland, more than 1,800 pubs between 2005 and 2021 closed. In 2022 such former public houses were added to the list of vacant commercial properties which, under the Government’s Housing for All Plan, could be marked exempt from planning permission for home conversion. The latest planning data, seen by The Irish Times, shows various local authorities have now received 92 notifications for a change of use relating to vacant pubs, which should provide 295 new homes when developed. The Irish Times, 12th August
Goatstown, South Dublin The way has been cleared for Tetrarch to build a 114-unit “age-friendly” assisted living development in south Dublin, after an appeal against the project from local residents was withdrawn. The scheme, which is made up of 100 apartments across seven blocks and 14 houses, will be built on a 2.9-acre site in the Dublin suburb of Goatstown, and is exclusively designed for residents of 65 and older. The Business Post, 10th August
Ballymun, Dublin 1 Just under 70 prospective homebuyers vied to purchase 12 homes in Dublin City Council’s first affordable housing scheme to go on sale in more than a decade. The three-bed houses at Oileáin na Crannóige, Ballymun, with prices starting at €264.3k, are expected to be completed by the end of this year, in advance of the Oscar Traynor Road affordable scheme in Coolock, where the first houses are due to be ready early next year. The Irish Times, 9th August
Albert Quay, Cork Plans have been unveiled for a near €100m 24-storey apartment scheme on a Cork city docklands site. The vacant Sextant Bar site on Albert Quay will see more than 200 cost-rental apartments if greenlit. Cork City Council has published the details of its partnership plan with the JCD Group to deliver 217 apartments in the proposed Railway Apartments scheme on the JCD-owned former Sextant Bar and Carey’s Tool Hire site, on Albert Quay. It includes a mix of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, with most for cost-rental. The Irish Examiner, 12th August
Ires is forecasting that up to 10,000 apartments may hit the market in the next two years as investment funds are forced to sell up. In its interim results, Ires also revealed that it has backed out of a deal to acquire 44 new units at Ashbrook, an apartment complex in Clontarf. The deal was signed in January 2022. Ires says that the vendor, the builders MKN, did “not achieve practical completion by the longstop practical completion date.” It added that the matter was the subject of a contract dispute-resolution process, an independent architect had ruled in Ires’s favour and the company was continuing with the termination of the contract. The Sunday Times, 11th August
Private Rental Sector The country needs corporate landlords to provide more rental accommodation, Paschal Donohoe has said. The public expenditure minister was speaking in response to the RTB reports which showed 22,510 rental properties in the capital are now linked to large landlords, while outside of Dublin large landlords have also increased their share of the private tenancies market from 1.8% to 2.6%. Donohoe said that the government had always argued in favour of a “healthy” mix of rental accommodation and said that large investors were needed to be able to deliver accommodation “at scale”. The Business Post, 8th August
BNP Paribas Report In BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland’s latest purchasing managers’ index, total construction activity in July reached 49.9. Housing activity increased for the fifth consecutive month. Meanwhile, commercial activity was broadly unchanged following a sharp reduction in June. John McCartney, the director and head of research at BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland, flagged that falling completions could delay the impact of increased commencements in the sector. “New dwelling completions fell by 8.6% in the first half of the year. This means 20,700 units need to be delivered in the second half for the government’s target of 33,450 completions to be met.” The Business Post, 12th August
Vacant Office Conversion The LDA could play a role in converting vacant office blocks into residential housing, a government minister has said. The state-sponsored agency, tasked with the delivery of affordable housing, recently met with officials from the Department of Housing and Alan Dillon, the Fine Gael junior minister, to update the government on its work under Project Tosaigh. A cross-departmental working group, set up last year in the wake of increasing vacancy in the commercial property sector, is working on proposals to amend planning regulations to allow for the conversion of older office space in urban areas. The Business Post, 7th August
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Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow Lisney Sotheby’s International Realty is looking for offers of approx. €35m for the 20-hole links at the European Club in Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow. The European Club occupies 193 acres including frontage just short of a mile on to the Irish Sea and unspoilt views for miles inland toward the Wicklow mountains. The estate includes a substantial clubhouse with an apartment suite overlooking the links as well as three private homes. The Irish Times, 2nd August
Thomas Street, Dublin 8 A Dublin councillor has called for the council to refuse planning permission for another proposed luxury accommodation space in The Liberties, citing an “overconcentration” of this type of development in recent years. The latest planning application was submitted by Welthomas Property to develop a part 7-storey aparthotel with 93 rooms and a bar/events space alongside The Masonry at 151 Thomas Street. The Irish Independent, 31st July
Grafton Street, Dublin 2 The operator of the Bewley’s café on Grafton Street is seeking to have its rent reduced by approx. €1m in a long-running row with its landlord, the Circuit Court has heard. Bewley’s Café Grafton Street Limited, whose 35-year lease expired in August 2022, wants its annual rent reduced to €518k, down from its current rate of approx. €1.4m. It has calculated this based on a headline rate of approx. €740k before applying discounts it argues should be included to account for various improvements and planning restrictions. RGRE Grafton Limited, the landlord and a company within Johnny Ronan’s real estate group, believes the appropriate yearly rent is €1m. The Business Post, 4th August
Donnybrook, Dublin 4 The Brazilian embassy has signed a 12-year lease for office space on the second floor of Donnybrook House. Landlord MM Capital will provide a tailored fit-out for the embassy, which is set to take up occupancy of 6,878 sq. ft of office space on the second floor in six months. The building comprises 45,000 sq. ft of office space, a 4,000 sq. ft restaurant, and a 2,000 sq. ft cafe. The Irish Times, 3rd August
Clonskeagh, Dublin 14 French fund MNK Partners has acquired Block 5 of Richview Office Park for its Europe+ fund from Eagle Street Partners for just under €10m. Located in Clonskeagh, Block 5 is a three-storey detached unit with 25,245sq. ft of office space and 63 surface parking spaces. Richview Office Park is off the Clonskeagh Road and it forms part of the larger Clonskeagh business park hub. The Irish Times, 2nd August
Naas, Co Kildare Plans for a large-scale data centre on a site outside Naas will be lodged in the coming days. A company called Herbata Ltd says it is looking to build a data centre campus, comprising six two-storey data centre buildings at Jigginstown, Halverstown, and Newhall, in Naas on lands bound to the east by the M7 Business Park. The Irish Times, 1st August
CBRE Industrial and Logistics Report Ireland, particularly the Dublin market, continued to enjoy solid levels of demand and take-up for industrial and logistics assets through 2023, but in Q1 and now in a more pronounced fashion in Q2, a material slowdown in take-up is evident. Take-up in Dublin this quarter has fallen to its lowest level since 2014, and total space taken up in the first half of the year (787,778 sq. ft) is lower than the 10-year historical average for just one quarter. CBRE, 31st July
Primary Care Centres The HSE has begun a new primary care centre procurement process, demanding that developers who previously won contracts to provide such facilities either build them at previously agreed prices or withdraw from the process. The state body now plans to re-advertise tenders potentially worth hundreds of millions of euro where developers decide to withdraw. More than 40 primary care centres, representing a potential investment of over €500m, are currently at various stages of progression to add to more than 100 already built. The Irish Independent, 4th August
Aperee Living City Quarter Capital II, an issuer of loan notes investments within the troubled BlackBee group, has appointed a receiver to five nursing home properties in the Aperee Living chain. The appointment was made over an alleged failure to comply with the terms of loan agreements. In 2018, City Quarter Capital II provided loans to five homes in the Aperee portfolio at Callan, Co Kilkenny; Bantry, Belgooly and Conna in Co Cork; and Ballinasloe in Co Galway. The homes in Callan and Ballinasloe were closed earlier this year after the Health Information and Quality Authority cancelled their registration. The Sunday Times, 4th August
Merrion Road, Dublin 4 Waste tycoon Eamon Waters is planning the construction of approx. 600 apartments and student beds on the former Jacobs Engineering site on Merrion Road in Dublin. Waters purchased Merrion House from Castlethorn Construction for approx. €20m this year. It overlooks Dublin Bay. Waters made the purchase through an entity called Capital Scene Unlimited, of which he and his brother Robert are directors. The deal was completed in February. It is understood that the 2.91-acre site will include 270 apartments and 320 student bedrooms. The Sunday Times, 4th August
Howth, Co Dublin Plans by Glenveagh to construct a €60m 135-unit apartment scheme on a site adjoining Howth demesne have been blocked by Fingal County Council. Glenveagh subsidiary GLL PRS Holdco Limited was seeking to build the apartments in four blocks ranging in height from three to five storeys. The proposed scheme would have seen up to 72 two-bedroom units and 63 one-bedroom homes on the 3.8-acre site. The Irish Times, 1st August
Coolock, North Dublin Concerns for the light-bellied brent goose have helped put paid to a large-scale housing development in Dublin that is “desperately needed amid the current housing crisis”. An Bord Pleanála has refused permission for 330 apartments, 60 assisted living units and retail units at the site of the former Cadbury’s pitch and putt course at Oscar Traynor Road, in Coolock. The large-scale residential development scheme proposed by OTR Development Company comprised six blocks ranging from two to nine storeys in height. The refusal of the scheme by the appeals board upholds a decision earlier this year by Dublin City Council, which was also based on concerns for the geese. The Irish Times, 30th July
Hooke & MacDonald Report First-time buyers account for a third of purchasers in the new homes market followed closely by public sector bodies, according to the latest research by Hooke & MacDonald. The public sector category has now become the second biggest purchaser of new homes, at 26% of the total, increasing from 22% in 2022 and an 86% increase from 14% in 2018. “At the present rate of activity in the various sectors it is likely that the public sector will be the leading purchaser of new housing stock within two years,” said Donald MacDonald, Hooke & MacDonald director. The Business Post, 5th August
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Spencer Place, Dublin Docklands Blackstone has completed the purchase of Saleforce’s new Dublin headquarters for over €500m in what is one of the biggest European office sales this year. On behalf of its core-plus perpetual capital vehicles, Blackstone has closed the acquisition of Spencer Place, a newly built 431,000 sq. ft. trophy office campus. The deal, understood to have a NIY of c. 4.25% attached to it, is the largest office deal to complete in Europe over the past few months, and comes as a welcome boost for the market. The campus consists of three grade-A office buildings fully leased to Salesforce for 15 years as their European headquarters and one hotel leased to Ireland’s largest hotel operator, Dalata Hotel Group. Spencer Place was sold by Fortress and Ronan Group Real Estate. React News, 24th August
Stripe, Dublin The tech giant Stripe has put its hunt for Irish offices on hold as the company weighs up its needs in a post-pandemic business environment. The payments technology company had put a requirement out to the market last year for up to 400,000 sq. ft. of office space, and said it was open to renting or buying. However, it is believed that in recent weeks CBRE, the agent acting for Stripe, has been informed that the search has been halted. Property sources believe that when the company returns to the market it will look to search for a smaller footprint of c. 200,000 sq. ft. It already has offices at No. 1 Lower Grand Canal Street in Dublin’s south docks. The Sunday Times, 28th August
Dublin Central Logistics Park, North Dublin Just over four months on from the €50m sale of the 118.40-acre Killamonan Business Park to Iput Real Estate, Bovale Developments is seeking a buyer for another of its large logistics landbanks next to Dublin’s M50 motorway. Extending across an area of 91.4 acres and zoned for employment use, Dublin Central Logistics Park is being offered to the market on behalf of Bovale and Nama by joint agents Savills and Cushman & Wakefield at a guide price of €34m (c. €361.3k per acre). The lands are predominantly in agricultural use at present and include a large two-storey vacant residence and four light industrial units on c. 2.40 acres accessed directly off the R122 Road. The Irish Times, 24th August
Fota Retail Business Park, Cork McGuirks Golf is preparing to open a flagship store at Fota Retail Business Park, outside Cork City. The 16,000 sq. ft. outlet will be the sports retailer’s 19th shop nationwide and brings to three the number opened by McGuirks this year alone. The retailer has taken a 10-year lease on Unit A1 at the Carrigtwohill Business Park. The new Carrigtwohill store will devote the ground floor (11,000 sq. ft.) to golfing equipment and will be the first McGuirks’ outlet to have two custom fitting bays (a process that matches clubs with golf swing). A ladies’ section will occupy a separate 2,500 sq. ft. mezzanine level, and a second mezzanine will be tennis specific. The Irish Examiner, 25th August
Rathmines, Dublin 6 The owners of the Swan Shopping Centre in Rathmines, Dublin 6, have applied for planning permission to build a new 111-bedroom hotel at the site. Sawbridge, which is run by the Anderson family, owns the centre as well as the Omniplex cinema chain and other property interests. It has lodged an application with Dublin City Council for the new hotel on Rathmines Road Lower and Castlewood Avenue, extending to Castlewood Terrace. The company said the new structure would increase the overall height of the building to five storeys in one part and six storeys in another. The Swan Centre has dozens of retail and restaurant units over two floors and more than 156,000 sq. ft. of space. Its primary retail frontage is to Lower Rathmines Road and there is also a substantial underground car park. The total area of the proposed development is 38,255 sq. ft. The Irish Times, 27th August
Retail Sector Outlook, Ireland The pandemic, followed by price inflation and interest rate rises, has significantly changed the Irish retail landscape over the past two years. The retail sector employs more than 300k people nationwide generating sales of over €30bn annually (c. 12% of Ireland’s GDP) and it delivers €7bn in tax revenue to the state. In the years before Covid-19, households saved c. €350m per month, but in the last two and a half years have saved nearly three times the amount, averaging €1bn per month. That said, consumers have been cautious and there has not been a spending boom post-pandemic as evidenced from retail sales figures, which were flat in the 12 months to the end of May 2022. Consumer sentiment, as measured by the KBC index, continued to weaken into Q2, a trend that began in February when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. While the Grafton Street area remains below pre-pandemic levels, the Henry Street area has witnessed significant gains and had 20% more footfall in mid-June 2022 compared to the same period of 2019. In spite of this, retail vacancy levels on the prime shopping streets remain high, with 16 unoccupied units on Grafton Street and 11 on Henry Street/Mary Street in Dublin. The Business Post, 26th August
City Arts Centre, Dublin City Centre Ventaway is seeking planning permission to develop Dublin’s tallest building on the site of the former City Arts Centre at City Quay. Should it be approved, the 24-storey structure would rise to 108m, making it just under 10m higher than the 30-storey (98.4m) residential tower Ruirside Developments intends to build on Parkgate Street. While the proposed City Arts Centre scheme is office-led with 243,124 sq. ft. of office space over 23 of its floors, the site’s history will be recognised with 15,113 sq. ft. of artist studios/workshops and exhibition/performance space distributed across the front of the building at its lower-ground, ground and first-floor levels. The application also provides for a 2,626 sq. ft. gym at ground-floor level along with 11 car-parking spaces and 424 bicycle spaces. React News, 25th August
Mahon, Cork Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has lodged an appeal against planning permission for a new 10-storey hotel outside Cork city. TII said the plans for the 165-bed hotel at Jacob’s Island in Mahon, alongside separate plans for c. 500 homes on an adjacent site, represent an “intensification of development which will create a further unacceptable impact on the operation, capacity and safety of the N40” ring road around Cork. Hibernia Star Ltd first applied to Cork City Council for permission for the hotel back in January. The development would also include a 114,442 sq. ft. office building over seven storeys. Separately, the same company lodged a Strategic Housing Development consultation late last year for 498 apartments in the same area. The case is due to be decided by An Bord Pleanála by 3rd January, 2023. The Irish Examiner, 26th August
Malahide Road, Dublin 17 Walls Construction has lodged fast-track plans with An Bord Pleanála to demolish its three-storey Rosemount House headquarters at Northern Cross, Malahide Road in Dublin 17. In its place, Walls Construction is seeking to build a €77m nine-storey mixed-use scheme comprised of 176 apartments. The proposed development consists of 72 one-bed apartment units, 57 two-bed apartments units and 47 three-bed units. The scheme would also include 11,302 sq. ft. of office accommodation on the ground floor, which would house a new headquarters for the building company. The scheme would feature a cafe unit and resident amenity and support services at ground-floor level. As part of its obligations to provide social housing under such plans, the company has put an indicative price tag of €15.84m on the sale of 36 apartments to Dublin City Council. This would include 28 one-bed units and eight two-bed units, with an indicative average price of €440.1k on each apartment. The Irish Times, 25th August
Social Housing, Ireland The government increased its social housing leasing target by c. 1,000 units due to warnings from the Department of Housing over the pressure the state was under in accommodating Ukrainian refugees, new documents show. In July, an extra €450m fund was launched by the state to lease 1,000 new-build homes for social housing. The move came despite the fact that Taoiseach Micheál Martin has committed to phasing out the practice of leasing homes from private developers for this purpose. The new social housing leasing tender document, issued in July by the Housing Agency, also asked property developers and investors to submit “a minimum of 20 properties and a maximum of 150 properties in any one proposal” for lease. The agency added that it was predominantly looking to lease new-build homes in Dublin but would review proposals outside the capital. The Business Post, 27th August
Help To Buy Scheme, Ireland The government must extend its €600m Help to Buy scheme for another three years to help both builders and first-time buyers with soaring costs, the country’s construction lobby group has said. The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) also warned that low levels of projected government spending on infrastructure projects under the €165bn National Development Plan do not “augur well for the pipeline of construction projects”. And it called for a lower rate of tax for small-scale landlords to address what it called their “exodus” from the housing market – a trend which it argued is “impacting the supply of affordable rented accommodation in many locations where there is an absence of the large scale ‘Build to Rent’ accommodation”. The Business Post, 25th August
Residential Property Market Sentiment, Ireland The rise in the cost of living is having a “major effect” on the home-buying, renovations and rental markets, according to the latest report from MyHome.ie. Demand is proving to be a critical factor that shows no sign of slowing, according to the report. In July, brochure views rose by more than 40% on MyHome.ie compared to the same month in the previous years. More than two-thirds of respondents said they had the finances in place to buy a home in the coming year. According to the report, 54% of those who are ready to buy property believe they will be able to do so in the next year. Sentiment among renters was described as particularly negative, with 63% reporting that the increase in costs had affected their ability to rent a property. The cost-of-living crunch has also slowed down home improvements, with 45% reporting that the spiralling costs have affected their ability to renovate or do other building works to their home. The Irish Independent, 29th August
Clonburris, Dublin 24 Cairn Homes has been granted planning permission to build 569 new homes in Clonburris, Dublin 24. The builds are part of the first phase of its new housing scheme as part of the Clonburris Strategic Development Zone. Cairn will commence construction and expects to deliver new homes in the first phase of its 5,500 mixed-tenure scheme in Clonburris by the middle of next year. This first phase of Clonburris will see the construction of the 569 new family homes, incorporating 173 houses, 148 duplexes and 248 apartments. The Government recently approved a multi-annual funding package of over €200m to assist the early delivery of the significant infrastructure needed to create the new town. Cairn said it will make a €40m investment in matched funding to this infrastructure cost in addition to increasing the delivery of social and affordable housing to 20%. The Irish Times, 29th August
Kilbarry, North Cork Plans by the Cork GAA County Board for a €75m, 319-unit housing scheme for Cork city are facing local opposition. Earlier this year the county board lodged fast-track plans with An Bord Pleanála for the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) scheme on a site it owns at Old Whitechurch Road, Kilbarry, on the northern fringes of Cork city. The profits it would earn from the €75m scheme were earmarked to pay down the Páirc Uí Chaoimh stadium debt which stood at €29.74m at the end of last September. The scheme is made up of 85 semi-detached homes, 118 terraced units, 53 duplex units and 63 apartments. The Irish Times, 26th August
Mortgage Activity, Ireland The number and value of mortgages approved in July fell when compared with the previous month. Figures from the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) show a total of 5,255 mortgages were approved last month with first-time buyers accounting for 45% of this number. The total was down c. 12% on the previous month but was up 4.4% on the same period last year. In value terms, the mortgages approved in July were worth €1.4bn, down c. 13% on the previous month. Much of the activity in July was driven by non-purchase mortgage activity, which includes switching and top-ups. This category grew by 95.8% in volume terms YoY to 1,741, and by 147.6% YoY in value to €441m. The BPFI figures came as the rate of increase in property prices nationally slowed in May to 14.4%, extending a pattern of deceleration recorded in recent months. The Irish Times, 26th August
Blackrock, Cork Members of a support group for the Bessborough mother and baby home are “outraged” at plans to construct 420 apartments on the Bessborough estate in Cork. Earlier this year, Estuary View Enterprises (EVE) lodged combined Strategic Housing Development (SHD) plans with An Bord Pleanála to construct 420 apartments plus a cafe and creche on the site in Blackrock in Cork city. EVE is the largest landowner in the Bessborough estate, with its block spanning just over 40 acres. The combined new SHD schemes from EVE comprise seven blocks of varying height, with a mixture of buy-to-rent and buy-to sell units planned. The tallest block would be 10 storeys. The Irish Times, 25th August
Killarney, Co Kerry A large-scale housing development in Killarney town has been refused permission because of the potential impact on lesser horseshoe bats flying to their roosts in the nearby Killarney National Park. Artificial lighting including during the construction phase would disturb the bats that “commute” along the Deenagh river in the Killarney National Park alongside the proposal for 228 units, Kerry’s first Strategic Housing Development, according to An Bord Pleanála. The 15-acre infill site off the N71 Port Road, opposite the Killarney National Park, would have included houses, duplexes, town houses and 152 apartments in three and four storeys, a childcare facility, and a large green area along with roads. The application had the strong approval of the council planners, amid a shortage of housing supply in Killarney and its potential to facilitate pedestrians and cyclists. The Irish Times, 25th August
Finglas, Dublin 11 An Bord Pleanála has given permission for a contentious 314-unit build-to-rent apartment scheme at a former factory site at Jamestown Road in north Dublin. The appeals board approved the Jamestown Village Ltd plan despite local opposition and a recommendation by Dublin City Council to refuse planning permission. The scheme — originally 321 units comprised of 211 two-bed units and 110 one-bed units across five blocks rising to six storeys — is located 850m north of Finglas village. The appeals board ordered the omission of seven units from the initial 321 units proposed. The Irish Times, 24th August
Terenure, Dublin 6W Developers behind plans to construct a seven-storey, 364-unit build to rent apartment scheme on land at Terenure College are contesting the decision by Dublin City Council to refuse planning permission. A subsidiary of developer Lioncor has lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála against the decision earlier this month to refuse planning. The Carmelite order — which runs Terenure College and owns a substantial land bank at the school — had stated that the development would help secure the future viability of the college. The plan by Lioncor — which also includes 21 houses — for the scheme at Fortfield Road, Terenure, comprises four apartment blocks rising to seven storeys that is made up of 15 studios, 166 one-bed apartments, 174 two-bed apartments and nine three-bed units. Some will be sold with the others rented. The Irish Times, 24th August
South Circular Road, Dublin 8 Fresh plans for the Bailey Gibson site on the South Circular Road in Dublin, which would mean the height of the proposed development is more than halved, will be presented to city councillors on Wednesday. US developer Hines has submitted a Strategic Housing Development (SHD) application to An Bord Pleanála for 345 homes in blocks ranging in height from two to seven storeys. In September 2020 the board granted Hines permission for 416 homes with a 16-storey apartment block on the same site. However, local residents took judicial review proceedings seeking to have the board’s decision quashed. The Irish Times, 24th August
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Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin 2 TikTok has inked a deal for the Tropical Fruit Warehouse. The agreement will see the Chinese-owned social media platform take all 85,000 sq. ft. of office accommodation at the six-storey riverfront building. According to market sources, the company has committed to a long-term lease at a rental level of €60 per sq. ft. with the scheme’s developer and landlord, Iput Real Estate. When taken together with the 202,000 sq. ft. the company is set to occupy at the Sorting Office on Cardiff Lane, TikTok’s Irish operations now have an overall footprint of 287,000 sq. ft. Located at 30-32 Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, the Tropical Fruit Warehouse briefly comprises a six-storey office block developed within the structure of the last remaining original warehouse on the city’s quays. The Irish Times, 22nd August
O’Connell Street, Dublin 1 An investment property next door to the Clerys Quarter at 28 O’Connell Street, Dublin 1, is being offered for sale with a €3.5m guide price. The entire property is currently leased to Xenon Dental Services, trading as Smiles Dental, which is part of the British United Provident Association (BUPA) global health care group, at an annual rent of €160k. While this equates to a gross yield of 4.57%, its attractions as an investment include upward-only rent reviews, no break clauses on a lease with 19 years to run, as well as the financial strength of its tenant. With highly ornate ground-floor ceilings, the five-storey over basement Edwardian building extends to 4,666 sq. ft. It was originally designed as a bank. The Irish Independent, 18th August
Aerodrome Business Park, South-West Dublin Iron Mountain has inked an agreement with Irish property firm Iput Real Estate for the long-term lease of Unit Q at its Aerodrome Business Park in Dublin, Ireland. The US enterprise information management firm is set to occupy the newly built 162,000 sq. ft. facility, joining Life Style Sports, who has taken the 120,000 sq. ft. Unit G in 2021. Completed in July, Unit Q sits on a 7.8 acre site in the access-controlled park, and comprises a total of 13,265 sq. ft. of office space on three levels, along with 147,454 sq. ft. allocated for warehouse space. React News, 22nd August
Healthcare Portfolio, Ireland Developer Richard Barrett has sold a portfolio of four care homes to listed Belgian property group, Aedifica, in a €161m deal. The four properties – two Dublin nursing homes, Ireland’s largest step-down unit for patients leaving hospital and another nursing home currently in development – were owned by Bartra Healthcare. Loughshinny nursing home in Skerries, which opened in 2019, accommodates 125 people. Northwood nursing home in Santry, which has 121 beds and the Beaumont Lodge Health Service Executive transitional care unit in Artane, with 221 spaces, both opened in 2020. Clondalkin Lodge nursing home, which is currently under development, will offer 150 beds when it opens in the third quarter of next year. Bartra will continue to run the homes under long-term leases which, Aedifica says, will yield an initial net yield of c. 5%. It will also operate another Aedifica site in Crumlin. The Irish Times, 19th August
Stillorgan, South Dublin Kennedy Wilson has secured a €77m “green loan” from AIB to help fund the development of a large mixed-used development on the site of the former Stillorgan Leisureplex in south Dublin. The debt will be used to finance the development of 234 apartments, c. 19,913 sq. ft. of retail, restaurant and cafe space as well as resident amenities and a landscaped plaza at the Cornerstone scheme in Stillorgan on the site of the former Leisureplex. Kennedy Wilson bought the 2.5-acre site for €15m in 2016, a substantial reduction on the €65m which Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett’s Treasury Holdings paid to acquire it in 2006. The Irish Times, 17th August
Donnybrook, Dublin 4 Plans for a 10-storey build-to-rent apartment scheme in Donnybrook has been given the green light by An Bord Pleanála. The development is earmarked for the site currently occupied by a Circle K filling station, opposite Donnybrook Stadium. The decision follows a revision by the developers, Red Rock Donnybrook Ltd, at the appeal stage to reduce the height of the development by two floors. The Irish Times, 17th August
The Crescent Building, Dublin 12 The cost of remediating fire-safety defects at a large Celtic Tiger-era apartment complex in west Dublin have tripled, rising from €5m to more than €15m. The Crescent Building in Dublin 12 comprises 10 blocks of 257 apartments and was built by a third-party contractor in 2003 as part of the larger Park West campus developed by Harcourt Developments. In June 2021, managing agent Keenan Property Management (KPM) – acting on behalf of the owners’ management company (OMC) – informed residents of the result of a fire-safety survey which found non-compliance with the fire-safety certificate in various parts of the building. The cost of remediating these issues was then believed to be c. €5m. However, residents were told recently that the cost had now risen to €15.9m, with the cost per apartment estimated at €68.5k. This cost includes a 30% contingency fund in the case of inflationary surge. The Irish Times, 19th August
Blackglen Road, South Dublin The environment and wildlife of south Dublin’s greenbelt is under threat from large-scale “urban-style” apartment developments, local residents and councillors say, following the upgrade of a rural road at the foot of the Dublin mountains. An application has already been submitted to An Bord Pleanála for a Strategic Housing Development (SHD) of just over 100 apartments and houses on the road, with a neighbouring SHD scheme of 400 apartments due to the submitted to the board this month. Heronbrook Properties has sought permission for 32 houses and 69 apartments in blocks up to four storeys tall on a site south of Blackglen Road, with An Bord Pleanála expected to issue a planning decision in the coming weeks. The Irish Times, 19th August
Newbridge, Co Kildare Applications will open on Monday afternoon for the latest cost-rental scheme, which will see housing association Tuath offer homes for rent in Co Kildare at up to 40% below market values. The 50 homes in Newbridge will be advertised on property website Daft.ie with rents of €1.13k for a two-bed and €1.3k for a three-bed home. Under the cost-rental system, rents are based on the cost of building, managing and maintaining the homes, and not market rates. Tenants also have long-term security, with leases running to several years available. The scheme is aimed at workers who earn too much to qualify for social housing supports but who cannot afford to buy or rent on the open market. It is open to households with a net income of up to €53k a year. The Irish Times, 22nd August
Howth Castle, Dublin 13 Plans for a retirement community and affordable housing on protected lands in the Dublin suburb of Howth have been set back following a council move to block rezoning. However, Tetrarch, the property investor that purchased 470 acres of land around Howth Castle in 2019, has commissioned market research on local demand for housing which it is now using in an attempt to win over local councillors. The company, which also plans to refurbish the castle and replace an existing hotel, is proposing 150 affordable homes — priced under €300k — for local residents via a housing agency alongside a retirement community across a total of 16.5 acres. The Irish Times, 20th August
Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow An Bord Pleanála has granted planning permission to Dwyer Nolan for 179 new homes at Newtownmountkennedy in Co Wicklow. The appeals board has granted permission to the Dublin building firm for the 121 houses and 58 apartments despite Wicklow County Council recommending that the scheme be refused on a number of grounds. The developers are to sell 18 units to the council for social housing to comply with their Part V social housing obligations. The Irish Times, 22nd August
Affordable Housing, Ireland Clúid Housing, one of the biggest annual providers of affordable homes in the state, has warned top civil servants that its rate of housing delivery could grind to a halt by 2024. In a letter to the Housing for All investment workgroup, Brian O’Gorman, chief executive of Clúid, said many approved housing bodies (AHBs) “will have to reduce their delivery output to ensure financial stability and compliance” in the coming years. He added the manner in which AHBs fund the expansion of their portfolios of social and affordable housing, through 100% debt, poses a big risk to the government’s Housing for All’s plan that targets to reach 30,000 new homes a year by 2030. Clúid, a not-for-profit charity, has a portfolio of 9,000 affordable homes in Ireland. Last year, it delivered more than 960 new homes, which helped house 3,300 residents. Clúid derives most of its funding to deliver housing from the capital advance leasing facility (CALF) process. It is a simple interest 2% loan, which is paid back at the end of a 30-year period. The Business Post, 20th August
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State’s Office Rental Public money could be saved if the State built or bought buildings instead of renting them, an internal Government study has found. In one example, a modern office building used by public sector workers with a floor space covering 170,070 sq. ft. will cost the exchequer €374m to rent over its estimated 40-year lifespan. A new-build office would cost €299m, while buying an existing building the same size would cost €288m. This suggests that the savings from building or buying for that one block alone would be up to €86m. Over the five buildings analysed, the State could save €216m by buying or building rather than leasing. The sample of five buildings chosen are a small fraction of the State’s 2,500-strong property portfolio, valued at €3.3bn. 61% of the State’s property portfolio is currently owned, while 39% is leased/rented, together catering for c. 40,000 civil service and State agency staff. The study, prepared for the Government, has also suggested significant savings for the public purse could be made by moving civil servants out of the costliest rental office space in central Dublin to more suburban sites. Currently, more than half (53%) of all Civil Service staff is based in 215 buildings in Dublin, 56% of which are State-owned and 44% are leased. The capital accounts for 80% of the State’s total rental costs. 63% of State rental costs in Dublin are for office space in Dublin 1 and Dublin 2. The Irish Times, 19th August
An Bord Pleanála There is growing evidence that the recent turmoil in An Bord Pleanála (ABP) has slowed down its decision-making, with cases in the first half of this year taking an average of 24.1 weeks to finish, up from 17.5 weeks in the first half of last year. Planning appeals are supposed to be decided within a statutory period of 18 weeks, but the number of cases meeting this deadline dropped to 45% in the first half of this year, down from 59% in the same period in 2021. The delays in finalising cases could be exacerbated by a new requirement introduced by the housing minister that the board must provide him with monthly reports on corporate governance reforms. ABP took in 1,583 new cases during the first half of the year and disposed of 1,357. At present the board is adjudicating on a number of prominent appeals, several of which are already overdue. The Irish Times, 17th August
Property Fund Tax, Ireland A dramatic decline in taxes paid by large investment property funds has prompted a review by the Revenue Commissioners. New data released by Revenue has shown that the effective tax rate has fallen to 5.9% after IREFs paid €36.8m tax on a taxable amount of €621m in 2021, having paid €65.7m on €369m in 2020. In Ireland, large property groups and institutional investors use vehicles called Irish real estate funds (IREFs) to house more than €20bn worth of property assets. The Business Post, 20th August
Naas, Co Kildare 15 appeals have been lodged with An Bord Pleanála by parties seeking to block plans for a solar farm on 277 acres in Co Kildare. The development by Strategic Power Projects Limited for a site 2.5km south of Naas in the rural townlands of Swordlestown North and South is being opposed by the owners of stud farms in the county. The applicant originally sought planning permission for a solar farm across 319 acres comprising 230,688 PV panels and this has been reduced to an area of 277 acres involving the erection of 197,010 PV panels after revised plans were lodged in response to a request by Kildare County Council for further information. A decision is due to be made by An Bord Pleanála in December. The Irish Times, 19th August
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Ringsend, Dublin 2 Blackstone has secured a €90m+ sale of an office in Dublin that is home to Google and Pfizer. French investor Corum Asset Management has agreed a deal to buy the Watermarque, a fully leased 107,500 sq. ft. office block in the South Docks. CBRE had been instructed to sell the Watermarque building by Blackstone, which is 80% leased to Google and Pfizer but also home to Unipol and News UK, off a circa €100m guide price. Blackstone, after acquiring the property through the purchase of Starwood’s €535m Cedar portfolio, invested significant capex to upgrade the asset. The asset provides a WAULT of c. seven years to breaks and a little less than 10 years to expiry. Pfizer didn’t exercise a recent break option, committing to another 10 years. The average passing rent of the building is €47 per sq. ft. React News, 16th August
Sandyford, Dublin 18 Cubic Telecom has taken out a long-term lease for c. 30,000 sq. ft. of Sandyford office building The Hive, in what is the second-largest office letting in the Dublin suburbs this year. The letting, by HWBC to the Irish software company, includes an option to expand. The former Ballymoss House was redeveloped into The Hive by developer U+I and partners Colony Capital, with the project completed in 2019. 26,000 sq. ft. of office space remains available in the building. The Irish Times, 15th August
Debenhams Stores, Cork and Dublin Two buildings in Dublin and Cork previously occupied by British retail giant Debenhams are now on the market for a combined €75m. Receivers Grant Thornton were appointed by Bank of Ireland earlier this year to oversee the sale of the properties, and property group Cushman & Wakefield has now been appointed as agent for the sales. Both properties have remained empty since Debenhams shut the stores in May 2020. The Henry Street building comprises four-storeys over a basement directly opposite the Arnotts department store. It encompasses c. 210,000 sq. ft. with 60m of frontage on to Henry Street. The property occupies a site area of c. one acre and is guiding €55m. As part of this sale, there is an existing licence with Zara which has traded on the site since 2003. It currently occupies c. 20,000 sq. ft. at ground and second floor level with additional storage on the third floor.
The building in Cork extends to c. 153,000 sq. ft., primarily comprising retail, ancillary stores, staff accommodation and plant rooms. The overall site extends to c. 1.2 acres. It is guiding €20m on the property. The Irish Times, 10th August
Grafton Street, Dublin 2 Paul Sheeran Jewellers has agreed a deal with investment group Hines to lease the entire ground floor of a new Chatham & King development off Grafton Street, where he plans to sell watches from some of the biggest luxury watch brands. This will involve a €4m investment by Sheeran and the watch manufacturers for units covering more than 7,000 sq. ft. on 10-year leases. The Chatham & King portfolio comprises more than 106,000 sq. ft. of prime retail and offices space as well as six residential units. It is owned and managed by the Hines European Core Fund (HECF). Tenants include global data analytics management firm Qualtrics, and retailers Zara and H&M. The Irish Times, 12th August
Staycity Aparthotel, Dublin City Centre Bain Capital, an American private equity fund, has sold a 340-unit Staycity aparthotel in Dublin city centre to Song Capital Partners, a UK and European investment firm, for €100m. The deal is one of the largest stand-alone real estate sales in the hospitality sector since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The aparthotel, on Little Mary Street in the markets area of Dublin’s north inner city, is due to start trading on September 5 and will be operated on a 25-year lease by Staycity. The acquisition is London-based Song Capital’s first purchase in the Irish market. The Sunday Times, 14th August
Oliver Plunkett Street, Cork A planning application has been lodged by a Cork hospitality group to transform the former Brennan’s Cookshop on Oliver Plunkett Street into a new wine bar. Phoenix Street Social Ltd, which is directed by Cork publican Benny McCabe, lodged an application with Cork City Council this week seeking permission to make changes to the building. According to the application, the group wishes to open a wine bar and art gallery at the 7 Oliver Plunkett St premises. If permission is granted for the new Oliver Plunkett St plan, it would bring the number of the group’s developments in Cork City to nearly 20. The proposal is in pre-validation with the council, with a decision expected by early October. The Irish Examiner, 12th August
Waterville, Co Kerry Press Up group has acquired the Butler Arms Hotel in Waterville, Co Kerry, for an undisclosed amount. Located on the seafront in the picturesque village on the Ring of Kerry coastline, the 60-bedroom hotel has been in operation for more than 100 years under four generations of the Huggard family, who recently made the decision to sell the property. The Business Post, 13th August
Clonshaugh Business and Technology Park, Dublin 17 Dublin City Council has approved an application made by Amazon through Colliers Properties for permission to construct two new data centres on a 9.27-acre site in Clonshaugh Business and Technology Park. The new data centres will be housed in two new two-storey buildings which will have a gross floor area respectively of 138,585 sq. ft. and 15,554 sq. ft. on a site of the former Ricoh building which is earmarked for demolition. The larger building will have two additional mezzanine levels. Amazon has estimated that between 15 and 58 staff will work at the data centres over a 24-hour period, while up to 400 staff will be employed during the construction phase of the project. Through the use of an innovative cooling solution, Amazon said the two new data centres would use as little as 264,000 litres of water for cooling annually. The Irish Independent, 14th August
Merrion Road, Dublin 4 Ires Reit has taken delivery of 69 apartments at the Tara View scheme in Merrion Road, Dublin 4, for €47.1m. Ires Reit announced that it has completed the purchase of the residential units delivered by a subsidiary of Dalata Hotels Group as part of its redevelopment of the old Tara Towers Hotel site. First announced in 2018, Ires Reit said on Monday that the deal for Tara View — which includes 69 apartments, town houses and car park spaces — closed at the original price settled upon when the forward purchase agreement was signed four years ago. It is expected to generate a gross yield on cost of 5.6%. The Irish Times, 15th August
Kinsale Road, Cork A High Court challenge has been brought against An Bord Pleanála’s decision to grant planning permission for over 600 new residential units in Cork. The challenge relates to the board’s decision of June 16th last to grant permission for the construction of over 560 apartments and 48 town house apartments, a creche and associated works at the former CMP Dairy Site, known as Creamfields, near Kinsale Road and Tramore Road in Cork. The proposed development consists of c. 12 buildings with one 15 storeys in height, with two others being nine storeys tall. The matter was briefly mentioned before Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds at the High Court. The judge adjourned the action to a date in October, when the new legal term commences. The Irish Times, 10th August
Terenure, Dublin 6W Dublin City Council has refused planning permission for a seven-storey, 364-unit, build-to-rent apartment scheme on former playing pitches at Terenure College in Dublin. The Carmelite Order – which runs Terenure College and owns the substantial landbank at the college – had said the development would help secure the future viability of the college. The plan by Lioncor – which also includes 21 houses which would be sold – comprises four apartment blocks rising to seven storeys in height and are made up of 15 studios, 166 one-bed apartments, 174 two-bed apartments and nine three-bed units. However, the council has refused planning permission to the Large Scale Residential Development (LRD) application after 240 objections were lodged. The Irish Times, 15th August
Ballycullen, South Dublin A Celtic Tiger-era apartment development in south Dublin is facing possible enforcement procedures from Dublin Fire Brigade. The 200-unit Hunterswood complex in Ballycullen, south Dublin, is a large development consisting of houses, apartment blocks and duplexes, with c. 655-units in total, and c. 2,000 residents. An independent consultant examined a number of the apartment blocks, known as Hunters Hall, and the duplex apartments, in November 2020 and concluded that there were several shortcomings which related to regulations around the means of escape and the internal fire spread, as set out in the main fire safety regulation. The development was in the news in 2018 when it emerged that the balconies on some of the apartments had decayed and become unsafe to stand on, requiring them to be replaced. According to market sources, the cost of fixing the balconies is estimated at c. €2m, but that most have not been completed, due to a lack of funds. The cost of remedying the fire safety breaches could be between €6m and €8m. The Business Post, 13th August
BNP ROI Construction PMI Activity in Ireland’s construction sector fell for a second month in a row in July amid sharply rising costs and a drop-off in demand. The company’s July purchasing managers’ index (PMI) indicates that overall activity across the residential, civil engineering and commercial construction sub-sectors declined last month. The decline in activity was most notable in the residential sector. Housing activity declined “substantially” in July following an only marginal fall in June, according to John McCartney, Director & Head of Research at BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland. Commercial projects saw the slowest fall in activity but the rate of contraction was still “marked overall” and accelerated from June to July. New orders decreased across the board for the fourth month in a row. Builders also sought to rein spending against a backdrop of sharply rising input prices, reducing their purchasing in July. On a more positive note, the rate of inflation fell to a 15-month low in July. Employment levels within the construction sector also remained relatively stable in July, Mr. McCartney said. BNP ROI Construction PMI, 15th August
Vacant Sites, Ireland New records show local authorities told the Department of Housing that loopholes in the vacant site levy rules have allowed owners to avoid c. €40m worth of levies since 2018. The levy commenced as a 3% penalty on the value of the land, due at the beginning of each year, and rose to 7% in January 2020. In total, €54.6m in levies have been issued to landowners since 2018, however, following successful appeals against the fines, only €43.9m worth of these levies are still valid. The documents show that local authorities have collected €4m worth of levies and that €39.9m of valid levies are still outstanding. When the vacant site levy rules were first introduced, local authorities identified more than €167.4m worth of unused property in 2018. The value of vacant property being tracked in Ireland reached a high of €292.5m at the beginning of 2021. The most recent records show there is now €175.4m worth of vacant property being monitored. The Business Post, 13th August
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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
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
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
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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Dublin Landings The Korean owners of a prime Dublin office block are considering a €120m sale of the asset, according to React News. CBRE and Savills have been lined up to handle the disposal of 2 Dublin Landings, a trophy asset located in the city’s coveted North Docks district. The sale could be launched post-summer, although timing will likely be dictated by market sentiment.
The building was bought by KanAm Grund, on behalf of Hana Financial Investment and JR AMC, for close to €105m in 2018. Developed by Ballymore and Oxley Holdings, the eight-storey, 100,000 sq. ft. building was let to WeWork on a 20-year lease with no break options. The long lease in place is expected to attract significant interest from overseas capital and European fund managers, with WeWork’s covenant now also back en vogue among investors. React News, 27th July
Cumberland Street, Dublin 2 Twitter is to scale back its office space in Dublin and several other cities globally. The social media giant occupies four floors at 1 Cumberland Street and is now seeking to lease out one of the floors to a new tenant. The company said in an email sent to employees that the move will not affect their jobs with some staff moving to a working from home model. Twitter had over 7,500 staff as of the end of last year. The company will also reduce the size of its offices in San Francisco, New York and Sydney, with plans to close several other offices following lease expiries including those in Seoul, Wellington, Osaka, Madrid, Hamburg and Utrecht. Bloomberg, 27th July
Kildare Street, Dublin 2 Dentons, the law firm, has signed a long-term lease for a new office in a recently restored building on Kildare Street in Dublin city centre. The firm signed the 15-year lease, which will see it take over 19,000 sq. ft. at 20 Kildare Street, with developer Kennedy Wilson earlier this month. It is currently working from its office in Joshua House on Dawson Street but hopes to be in the new building by the end of this year. Annual rent on the property was described as “north of €60” per sq. ft. The Business Post, 30th July
Carrickmines Park, Dublin Iput Real Estate has let more than 35,000 sq. ft. to two tenants at the Iveagh Building at Carrickmines Park, Dublin. The HSE has taken a 15-year lease for 33,000 sq. ft. across two floors of the property to expand their Slainte Care model, with Thérapie Clinic expanding its existing presence with a new 2,500 sq. ft. letting in addition to its fertility clinic at the site. Fit-out is already underway, with occupancy to take place in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, Iput continued its €7m investment programme at Carrickmines Park. The office and logistics landlord will continue investing in the asset this year by adding a new amenity building, an additional café and more public restrooms. React News, 27th July
Ronan Group Real Estate (RGRE) Developer Johnny Ronan will retain control of 12 prized property assets after his real estate company closed a refinancing deal to repay a €142m loan. RGRE closed the deal, which will involve a consortium of Bank of Ireland and AIB providing refinancing to repay M&G Investments, it’s creditor. Fortress Investment Group, a US-based investment management firm which is ultimately owned by the Japanese investment giant SoftBank, will stay on as junior lenders in the refinancing deal. The debt relates to a €145m loan that RGRE took from M&G Investments in 2015, which helped fund its exit from the National Asset Management Agency. The Business Post, 30th July
Self Storage Units, Ireland A US real estate company is investing close to €125m in U Store-it, Ireland’s biggest self-storage company. Heitman, which has €51bn in AUM worldwide, will purchase U Store-it’s existing self-storage portfolio of six units and develop another four. The deal involves Heitman paying over €104m to purchase U Store-it’s sheds in Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Waterford. Heitman will pay another €20m for four development assets in Dublin and Belfast, documents filed with the Companies Registration Office show. The Sunday Times, 31st July
St James’s Gate, Dublin 8 Irish property developer Ballymore has submitted a planning application to Dublin City Council to develop a 12.5 acre site that currently forms part of Diageo’s St James’s Gate brewing campus in Dublin 8. Called the Guinness Quarter, the plan includes 336 housing units, a hotel, a 300-seat performance space, a food hall and marketplace, commercial works spaces and more than two acres of landscaped public spaces. There would also be provision for 2,000 bicycles. A separate application has already been submitted to repurpose Brewhouse 2 on the site into a new Irish headquarters for Diageo. The application states that the scheme would include homes to buy and rent, and social housing possibly with the Iveagh Trust as a partner. The Irish Times, 29th July
Housing Crisis, Ireland The National Asset Management Agency (Nama) fears fallout from the war in Ukraine will hit its efforts to combat the Republic’s housing crisis. The State agency has backed or enabled the construction of 25,204 homes on sites it controls or which belong to its debtors, as part of the Government’s efforts to tackle the accommodation squeeze. In a letter to Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe, Nama says it is concerned at the impact of the inflation that stemmed from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on plans to build new homes on the agency’s sites. The war sparked a surge in energy and raw materials prices, further accelerating already-increasing building costs. The Irish Times, 28th July
Housing Completions, Ireland The number of new homes completed in the second quarter of 2022 was 53.4% higher than the same period last and year and 58.5% ahead of the second quarter of 2019, before the pandemic. Apartment completions in Dublin, which has seen a large increase in investment for build-to-rent units, were mostly responsible for the increase, Central Statistics Office (CSO) data indicates. 7,654 new homes, the highest number since records began in 2011, were built between April and June 2022, up from 4,490 over the same period last year when the construction sector remained heavily constrained by public health restrictions. It also represents a sharp 58.5% increase ahead of the April to June period in 2019. Of the total number of new dwellings completed in the second quarter, 3,905 (51%) were housing scheme units, 2,415 (31.6%) were apartments and 1,334 (17.4%) were single houses. Dublin saw the largest increase (78.6%) in housing output over the 12 months to the end of June. Seven out of eight regions saw an increase in housing output over the period. Only the southeast, where completions fell 9.2% in the year to the end of June, registered a decline. The Irish Times, 28th July
Kilcock, Co Kildare Strong bidding was seen at a recent auction when 80 acres of unzoned land with development potential near the town of Kilcock on the Meath-Kildare border sold for well over its guide price. Auctioneer Will Coonan had been guiding more than €1.5m for the land parcel and bidding opened at €1.35m before it petered out at €2.15m. That equated to €26,875 per acre which is not alone well over the guide of €18,750 per acre, but more than double the average price of agricultural land in the region. A Sherry FitzGerald survey of land prices in the first quarter of this year showed values were highest in the mid-east region of Ireland, which includes Kildare and Meath, where they average €11,550 per acre. Located at Newtownmoyaghy, the 80-acre parcel adjoins the Kilcock Environs development boundary and has 875m of frontage along the Moyglare Road, as well as frontage along the Rye River. The Irish Independent, 28th July
Development Land Market According to Lisney, prices for development land are falling and the pace of their decline has accelerated due to the combination of construction cost inflation and borrowing costs. However, the development land market in the greater Dublin area (GDA) performed reasonably well in the first half of this year with 36 deals valued at a total of more than €260m. Two deals accounted for almost half of the €260m turnover and the most valuable of those was Glenveagh’s sale of 5.2 acres at 1-4 East Road in Dublin 3. It was acquired by Eagle Street Partners Group for over €60m. IPUT paid the second highest price, buying 118 acres with commercial potential at Killamonan Business Park in west Dublin for over €50m. Most of the deals were in the sub-€5m lot size category with 24 sales accounting for c. 22% of the total turnover. The shortage of logistics and industrial accommodation caused an upsurge in demand for industrial zoned land and consequently these lands in north Dublin saw prices more than double from c. €100k per acre three years ago to c. €450k per acre in the first half of this year. The Irish Independent, 30th July
The University of Limerick (UL) has told staff that the development of its landmark city campus is to proceed without any “substantial” physical expansion of the building it is housed in, which was derelict for 15 years until earlier this year. The news comes as doubts persist over the university’s plans for the campus following the failure of its application to the government for an €87m state grant to develop the former Dunnes Stores site near Sarsfield Bridge, which it purchased for €8m in 2019. UL is currently attempting to come up with a new plan for the site, which forms a key part of wider plans to develop a “world class waterfront” in the city. The Business Post, 29th July
Housing Construction, Dublin According to market sources, c. 400 social, affordable purchase, and cost rental homes have been approved for the first phase of housing in the new west Dublin suburb of Clonburris. Construction is expected to start early next year on the first of two developments recently approved by South Dublin county councillors. The two schemes, Grand Canal Extension and Kishogue, will be the first developed by the council on its landholding in the new Clonburris Strategic Development Zone (SDZ). More than 8,700 homes for a population exceeding 23,000 are expected to be developed in the Clonburris SDZ over the coming years, almost one-third of which will be built on land owned by the council. The council’s first project will see 60 affordable purchase homes and 56 social homes built on a site just south of the Grand Canal and less than 10 minutes walk from Clondalkin train station. The Irish Times, 2nd August
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Blessington, Co Wicklow An Bord Pleanála has rejected an application by Bray-based development company Windlynn to build 330 houses, 30 apartments and a crèche at Kilmalum Road in Blessington under the fast-track planning application process. The proposed development would have consisted of a mix of houses, duplexes and apartments ranging up to three storeys in height, and also provided for an upgrade of local roads to include a pedestrian crossing and cycle track. One of the grounds for refusing planning permission was that it would have resulted in excessive population growth to that planned for the town. The Irish Times, 21st August
Dartry, Dublin 6 An Bord Pleanála has given the green light for 358 student bed spaces at Trinity Hall at Dartry despite strong opposition from local residents. The proposal brings the total number of bed spaces to 1,283. The college is aiming to begin construction on the project next year in spite of the impact of Covid-19 on the third level sector. The Irish Independent, 22nd August
Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 The Shrewsbury Road Residential and Environmental Protection Association (SRREPA) has lodged an objection against the Bartra Property proposal for a 111-bed shared co-living development at 98 Merrion Rd, Ballsbridge. In total, the city council has received 38 third-party submissions. The five storey proposal for 98 Merrion Road is to include 96 single rooms, six double rooms and three accessible rooms, along with a gym and cinema room. The Irish Times, 22nd August
Ranelagh, Dublin 6 Sherry Fitzgerald is guiding €1.1 million for a 1,744 sq.ft. (€630 psf) semi-detached 3 bedroom property at 1 Tudor Road, Ranelagh. The property has undergone meticulous renovation, refurbishment, and extension by its current owners. Tudor Road is within easy reach of Ranelagh’s many amenities, just off Park Drive. The Sunday Business Post, 23rd August
Milltown, Dublin 6 Sherry Fitz is guiding €1.15 million for a 1,700 sq.ft. (€676 psf) 3 bedroom Mews at No 50 Palmerston Gardens, Dublin 6. There is a lift between the kitchen and dining room that takes you to the first floor, where two of the three double bedrooms have en suite bathrooms. The property is located next to Palmerston Park and the Cowper Luas stop is just a short walk. The Sunday Times, 23rd August
Residential Sales 2020 The Irish Times are reporting that an analysis of the sales registered on the residential property price register shows c.5,800 fewer transactions in the first six months of this year compared with the same period in 2019. A total of 19,662 sales took place between January and June 2020, compared with 25,509 transactions during the corresponding period last year. Average monthly sales between April and June 2019 were just under 4,600 but the figure decreased to just over 2,700 this year. The number of property transactions in the first quarter was largely unchanged on the previous year but the slowdown was pronounced from April onwards. The Irish Times, 24th August
Residential Tenancies The SCSI have released a report on the residential property market showing 8% of residential tenancies did not pay their monthly rents as a result of the pandemic, with the number of tenants in arrears expected to increase further as wage supports are scaled back. One third of the tenants that did not pay provided “satisfactory evidence for the inability to pay” which should mean there will be a decent chance of recouping monies owed once the ban on evictions is lifted. Goodbody Irish Real Estate Report, 24th August
Dublin Airport Hotel A new hotel planned for near Dublin Airport is at risk of not going ahead due to a lack of meeting rooms, the owners of the site have claimed. Trimstar Limited has secured permission to construct a 100-bedroom hotel near Dublin Airport, which will be operated by Aloft. The firm said changes were required to the building plans before Aloft can commit to taking on the property. Trimstar’s application proposed minor internal changes to the hotel that would create meeting rooms on the ground floor and fourth floor. In total, the rooms would have capacity for 136 people. Fingal County Council has told the landowner that meeting rooms will not be allowed in the hotel because it would likely lead to an unacceptable number of people being present in the hotel at any given time and be contrary to public safety. The Sunday Business Post, 23rd August
Dalata Hotel Group Dubai-based Zahid Group Holding Company has built up a 4% stake worth more than €18 million in Dalata, the listed hotel group. The company spent more than €19.2 million buying a stake in the company in two separate tranches. When the firm bought the stake, Dalata’s shares were trading at just below €2.60. Since then, the shares have fallen slightly to c.€2.45, valuing the total stake at €18.2 million. Dalata’s current share price is substantially down on the price of nearly €5.90 at the end of 2019. The Zahid family’s stake building comes just after CI Investments, a Canadian investment firm, built up a stake of more than 3%, which was worth just over €14 million at the time it was acquired. The Sunday Business Post, 23rd August
Pearse St, Dublin 2 One hundred rooms in the Maldron Hotel in Pearse Street, Dublin, have been rented by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE) as part of its response to Covid-19. The Sunday Times are reporting that the fee is likely to be c.€300,000 a month. Guests seeking to book into the Maldron Hotel, now run by the Dalata Hotel Group, are being accommodated in other nearby Dalata hotels. The company said the homeless accommodation was being provided “in the short term”. Occupancy rates in Dublin hotels fell to 17% in July, which compares with 42% across the country as a whole. The Sunday Times, 23rd August
Opera Lane, Cork O’Callaghan Properties (OCP) and Iput have sold their combined interest in the Opera Lane retail centre in Cork city centre to a group of private investors assembled by Alanis Capital and funded by Deutsche Bank. The deal involves 16 of the 20 shops in the fashion shopping precinct. OCP has also sold 59 apartments in the same development. The remaining four shops in Opera Lane are being retained by owners New Ireland Assurance and Johnson and Perrott, a local motor group. Opera Lane tenants include H&M, River Island, Tommy Hilfiger, Next, Topman and Gap. The Sunday Times, 23rd August
Irish Construction Sector The Irish construction industry is likely to have suffered the biggest quarterly crash in activity on record as a result of coronavirus, with output falling by more than 30%, Ulster Bank chief economist Simon Barry has warned. Moreover, the extent of the downturn will not be known until next month when the Central Statistics Office (CSO) publishes second-quarter growth numbers for the Irish economy and its constituent sectors. Barry said it was safe to assume the construction sector here would under-perform international aggregates by some way because of the tightness of restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the virus. He said the reversal is likely to be similar to that experienced by the UK. Figures last week showed construction activity in the UK fell by 35% in the second quarter, compared to a 12% decline in the euro area. The Irish Times, 25th August
Carlow Terra Solar, an Irish-owned renewable energy developer, has been refused permission for a planned 127-hectare solar farm in Carlow. The company was seeking to develop the facility on agricultural lands c.6km from Tullow. It applied for permission for the development, which would be connected to the national grid, in May this year. The request has been refused by Carlow County Council as it “significantly exceeds” the threshold allowed for such developments in the county. The Sunday Business Post, 23rd August
Ires Reit A report from Investec has highlighted that growth in rental income at the State’s largest landlord, Ires Reit, is likely to stagnate this year, while building projects will be delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The report also notes that market indicators have been relatively reassuring, and suggest the impact on market rents has been limited to date. The Irish Times reports that Investec said it was comfortable with its forecast for 0% like-for-like rental growth in 2020, and now assumes that rents will also remain unchanged next year. The Irish Times, 24th August
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