Digital Hub deal worth €118m to State

The Government is to get €70 million in cash and office buildings worth a further €48 million in exchange for two development sites at the Digital Hub in the Liberties area of Dublin.

The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey, yesterday approved of the overall deal, which is worth €118 million to the State and will see Manor Park Homebuilders acquire a development site of 2.5 acres on Crane Street and the Cavan-based firm P Elliot & Co take over a site of 3.1 acres off Thomas Street.

Each of the developers will pay roughly half of the €70 million to the State and hand over a total of 13,000sq m (140,000sq ft) of office space to facilitate the future expansion of the Digital Hub.

Both companies will be required to make planning applications within six months and, once they have planning approval, to proceed with the developments, which are expected to reach a combined ultimate value of €250-€300 million.

To date, 50 companies employing 500 people are based at the Digital Hub.

Mr Dempsey emphasised the importance of the digital media sector to the Irish economy and pointed out that the global market "could be worth over $400 billion (€339 billion) in the next few years".

He said yesterday's property deal would provide "an enormous opportunity for the Digital Hub to act as a driver for the ongoing social and economic regeneration of the Liberties".

Nicholas Corson, of agent Finnegan Menton, who handled the property deal between the two parties, said that this was the first time the State had taken such an innovative approach to the sale of land.

More than half a dozen developers pitched for each site and the tendering was "highly competitive", he said.

An architectural guide by the Office of Public Works has suggested that a mixed development of offices, apartments and retail facilities should be provided on both sites in new and refurbished buildings.

It also favours heights generally of four to five storeys with a number of narrow point towers rising to between eight and 10 storeys.