Traffic congestion, parking difficulties and the pedestrianisation of Galway city centre has resulted in a huge shift of business to the outskirts of the city and to the massive development of commercial and retail parks.
The east side of the city has seen dramatic industrial and commercial growth in recent times and is a prime location for investment: it is home to companies such as Boston Scientific and APC as well as the longer established Nortel Networks, Compaq and Thermo King.
City centre businesses, from car sales and home decor to hitech computer firms, are moving out of the congested city centre to retail and business parks which offer more office and retail space and ample parking.
The £26 million Liosban Business Park on the Tuam Road, launched last week by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, has been designed to accommodate blue chip clients in the business services and administration sector. The focus is on leading companies involved in information technology, call centres, software development and computer and professional services.
The 200,000 sq ft park, which is adjacent to the existing Liosban Industrial Estate, is being developed by Donal Dooley, Pete Melville and Ricky Byrne, and construction is almost complete apart from one block. Units are priced at £115 per sq ft and ground floor rents are between £10 to £12 while first floor rents are between £8.50 and £10. Units are in a shell and core state, but the developers provide a full fitout service as an extra, with space being customised to clients' requirements.
International construction company Brunswick Holdings has taken one of the first buildings and units have also been taken by Sisk Ireland, Europa Insurances, Proactive Design and Online.
Ronan Rooney of sale/letting agents Rooney Auctioneers says there has been a lot of interest in the development and he expects 60 per cent of the units to be taken within the next month. The open plan units range from 2,000 to 40,000 sq ft.
Another major new commercial project is the City North Business Park further out the Tuam Road which is being developed by Kenny Business Park Ltd. The 16.5 acre park is strategically located two miles north east of the city, close to major link roads to Sligo, Dublin, Limerick and Cork and 10 minutes from Galway Airport. Its easy accessibility is expected to be one of the park's main selling points.
Levelling work began on the site at the end of last year and it will be launched within the next couple of months. It has nine blocks, each consisting of retail, office and warehousing space, ranging in size from 1,400 sq ft to 50,000 sq ft.
An Post/SDS has already bought a three acre site where it plans to locate its new western distribution headquarters.
A "facility building", proposed to benefit those working within City North, will incorporate a gymnasium, creche, restaurant and convenience store. Selling agents are Heaslip's.
The Galway Technology Park is a new six hectare business park located 5.5 kilometres east of the city centre at Parkmore, a well established commercial base adjacent to the IDA backed Parkmore Industrial Estate.
A joint undertaking by GK Developments and D&M Development, the second phase of the Park is under construction at the moment. When completed, it will provide 150,000 sq ft of state of the art office accommodation. Plans for the park include the provision of a centre for commercial excellence with emphasis on IT and e-commerce based companies.
It will feature modern three-storey office blocks which can be expanded or sub-divided through amalgamation of buildings. Accommodation will be available either in an entire building or on an "individual floor plate" basis with a typical floor plate measuring 3,185 sq ft.
The office accommodation will be available for sale or to let at a rate of £150 per sq ft to purchase or from £10 per sq ft upwards to lease.
A facilities building, which will incorporate a creche, convenience store/restaurant and ATM machines, is also proposed within the park. Joint agents are Rooney's, Heskin & Co and Lambert Smith Hampton.
Plans are also afoot to extend the Galway Technology Centre in one of the city's older business parks at Mervue by four times its current size, due to its continued success and the demand for space. The centre was established in 1994 by the Galway Task Force to support new business start-ups in the wake of the Digital closure, and it currently houses 12 companies which employ a workforce of 105. Fifteen other companies have graduated from the centre to new premises after a successful three year incubation period and are now employing 175 people in various locations around Galway.
The centre will be extended in two phases, the first of which will add a 25,000 sq ft extension on the site adjacent to the current building. This will accommodate some of the companies in the existing complex and other technology companies can apply for the remaining space.
James Steward Ltd are the contractors and the first phase is due for completion by July. Phase two of the development is currently under negotiation and is expected to be completed by April, 2001. Another area experiencing rapid commercial and industrial growth is Ballybrit, which has attracted businesses such as Western Motors and Tom Hogan Car Sales out to modern new state-of-the-art premises along the Ballybrit dual carriageway. Huge developments of industrial warehousing have sprung up in this area and out along the Dublin Road.
Western Motors' 30,000 sq ft showrooms are part of the Briar Hill Business Park in Ballybrit, being developed by city auctioneers Liam Mulryan and Bernard Costello. Cunningham and Higgins Motors have taken a 5,000 sq ft unit and Premier Windows are to occupy a 12,000 sq ft unit for their new manufacturing plant.
The developers are building 10 units of 4,000 sq ft each and have secured planning permission for a further 250,000 sq ft of units which will range in size from 4,000 to 50,000 sq ft.
This trend in companies moving out of the city centre is seen as the way forward for large scale commercial and business development in Galway into the future.
