Rents for a large office development to be built near the Luas at Harcourt Street will be the higest so far in the city centre. Jack Fagan reports
With leading legal firms William Fry and Matheson Ormsby Prentice looking for new office accommodation of over 9,290 sq m (100,000 sq ft) and several other big players like Pfizer in the market, Charlie Kenny's Clancourt Group has embarked on a large speculative office development in Upper Hatch Street, Dublin 2, which is due to be completed by the summer of 2006.
The €250 million scheme to be known as Park Place will have 26,973 sq m (290,332 sq ft) of high quality office space in three interconnecting buildings and 133 basement car-parking spaces.
The rent being quoted by Clancourt's new agent, Willie Dowling of CB Richard Ellis Gunne and Declan O'Reilly of HT Meagher O'Reilly of €511.28 per sq m (€47.50 per sq ft) is the highest so far sought in the city centre. The rental for car spaces is also the highest at €4,000 per annum.
Park Place will be in direct competition for major tenants in the market with several other new office schemes either under construction or due to begin in the coming weeks.
Most of these - including The Oval on Shelbourne Road, Sean Dunne's Riverside 4 at Sir John Rogerson's Quay and Treasury's new building on Burlington Road - are quoting rents of €484 to €495 per sq m (€45 or €46 per sq ft).
Park Place is being developed on the former Dunlop site around the corner from the old Harcourt Street station. The new development will include 2,200 sq m (23,700 sq ft) of retail space located within the original vaults of the station. This area will be ideal for a range of retail opportunities including a newsagent, coffee shop and restaurants and convenience store.
The agents say that the unusually deep floor plates in Park Place of 22.5 metres compared to the average of 13.5 metres will offer tenants greater efficiency and lower occupational costs.
One of the selling points for the office scheme is close proximity to the Green Luas line which runs through Harcourt Street. The site is also within easy access of the Grafton Street area.
