With the demand for out-of-town offices increasing because of the shortage of space in the inner city, another development opportunity has arisen in west Dublin. A site of 2.75 acres with full planning permission for 91,500 sq ft of offices in Clonee is expected to make in the region of £3 million when it is auctioned by joint agents Hamilton Osborne King and Navan agent John Farrelly and Associates on May 11th.

The four-storey development has been designed by architects Lyons and Associates in such a way that it can be let or sold in up to three blocks, or on a floor-by-floor basis. The scheme will include 357 car-parking spaces, spread between the basement and surface parking areas.

The real appeal of the site, according to Duncan Lyster of HOK, is the high profile location, with 170 metres of frontage along the N3, the Dublin-Navan road. The site is bounded on one side by the Tolka river bank and millrace, which it is proposed to upgrade and landscape. Access to the site is from the main street beside the Grasshopper bar and restaurant. Clonee is one of the fastest growing villages in west Dublin, with a few thousand new houses completed in recent years and many more in the pipeline. The high level of car-parking permitted by Meath Co Council will enhance the appeal of an office scheme.

The site is within 10 minutes drive of the M50 at Blanchardstown and about 20 minutes from Dublin airport. Several international companies are setting up bases in the area, and these include IBM and Yamanouchi. The nearby Ballycoolin business park has also attracted high technology companies such as Xerox, 3Com, Creative Labs and Symantec.