The State is to develop its own office buildings in Dublin for the first time in decades because of the difficulties of finding suitable accommodation for public servants.
The Office of Public Works is to build an office block of up to 120,000 sq ft on a one-acre site at Hammond Lane, near Smithfield, Dublin 7, which it has just bought for slightly over £4 million. Up to now, the State has relied mainly on the private sector to provide much of its accommodation.
The OPW took the market by surprise when it outbid half a dozen residential and office developers for the site, which had been owned for many years by matchmakers Maguire & Patterson and was sold by Swedish Match.
Hamilton Osborne King handled the sale.
Although the site covers an area of 1.2 acres, part of it has been earmarked for the new LUAS light rail line. The site is one of the last available within the precincts of the Four Courts, where the State requires a considerable volume of office space. Tom Sherlock of the OPW said yesterday the site was "critical for us in the light of the court related requirements we have." The Land Registry is looking for between 80,000 and 100,000 sq ft and there is also a need for additional accommodation for a number of court services. The OPW has yet to decide who to allocate the space to, but if it is to be for court use, then it can avail of "part 13" of the 1994 regulations and build without going through the planning process. If, on the other hand, the building is to be taken over by the Land Registry, the OPW will probably lodge a planning application with Dublin Corporation.
Although land registry services were decentralised to Waterford some time ago, a considerable number of staff are still based in the Four Courts. Two years ago, the OPW attempted to reach agreement with developers on a lease-purchase deal for offices for the Land Registry but there were no takers because of the shortage of suitable sites and the much improved yields available on the open market.
The story has been quite different in the provinces, where many office blocks occupied by the State have been built by private developers. These are usually leased to the State for a specific period, with ownership eventually passing to the State. The OPW will have to spend up to £20 million on developing and fitting out a building of 120,000 sq ft, which will be located beside the newly completed offices for the Bar Council. Because of the much improved fortunes of the Exchequer, the OPW has bought in several office buildings occupied by public servants which have come on the market in recent years. The OPW also offloaded huge volumes of rented space in Dublin up to about three years ago but has been back in the market since then looking to rent.
At present, it is seeking a total of 40,000 sq ft for several agencies, including the Prisons Board and the Equality Agency. Due to the scarcity of accommodation, it has decided not to avail of a break clause and remain on in St Stephen's Green House, at Earlsfort Terrace, in the centre of Dublin, where it will continue to rent 33,000 sq ft. The current rent of £10 per sq ft is due to be reviewed next year.
The OPW has also renewed a lease of 19,000 sq ft at Ely Court, off Ely Place, at a new rent of around £13 per sq ft.
However, it is taking a different view of O'Connell Bridge House, at O'Connell Bridge, where the 30-year lease of the 64,000 sq ft building is due to expire at the end of this year. In this case, the building will be vacated and most of the Department of the Environment officials transferred to the Custom House.
The news is unlikely to disappoint John Byrne's Carlisle Trust, because it will have little difficulty in doubling the present rent of around £7 per sq ft once the building has been upgraded.
