IN SHORT:A two-storey over garden-level office building at 37 Leeson Park, Dublin 6, going for sale this week at more than €1 million, underlines the fall in value of period office buildings in the city.
Property consultant Arthur Ryan says the building, which is in impeccable condition, would have made close to €3 million at the height of the property boom.
It has an overall floor area of 195sq m (2,100sq ft) and is owned by Design Bank, which will be relocating in the city.
The house is likely to be of interest both to investors and owner-occupiers.
€765,000 for car showrooms
The former motor showrooms owned by Crawfords at George’s Place in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, has been sold to a private investor for a price in the region of €765,000.
CB Richard Ellis had originally been seeking €2 million in 2009 for the building, which has an internal floor area of 600sq m (6,458sq ft) and stands on a site of 0.12 of a hectare (0.3 of an acre). The zoning on the site would allow the building to be used for a range of uses including retail and residential.
Hostel exceeds guide price
One of the best known hostels in the south of Ireland, the Railway Hostel in Killarney, has been sold for €760,000 – comfortably ahead of its €650,000 guide price.
HT Meagher OReilly and Sherry FitzGerald Coghlan handled the sale for receiver Kieran Wallace of KPMG. The hostel is located close to the bus and rail stations and can accommodate up to 101 guests in 28 bedrooms.
The building extends to 650sq m (6,996sq ft) and underwent extensive refurbishment internally and externally six years ago.
Index confirms rise in values
The London researcher IPD is expected to confirm today that capital values in the Irish commercial property market rose in the three months up to last December – the first time they have shown some signs of recovery in four years.
The IPD index is likely to show that values rose by 0.2 per cent in the final quarter because of a drop from 6 to 2 per per cent in stamp duty and the Government's decision not to introduce a retrospective ban on upwards-only rent reviews.
Last week, agent Jones Lang LaSalle estimated that capital values rose by 1.2 per cent in Q4. IPD's finding will be welcomed by the commercial industry which saw values fall by 4.6 per cent in Q3 and by 64.9 per cent since 2007.
Treasury in new letting deals
Treasury Holdings has boosted its rental income by €1.5 million in 35 new letting agreements since November. The increased level of activity comes as the company continues crucial talks with Nama.
Linkedin has leased two further floors in Wilton Plaza on the Grand Canal, bringing its overall space to 5,109sq m (55,000sq ft). Kanchi, the not-for-profit disability organisation, also signed a lease for 404sq m (4,359sq ft), bringing the overall occupancy of the building to almost 90 per cent. In Sandyford, RGA, the reinsurance company, has taken a 10-year lease on 583sq m (6,282sq ft) of space in Central Park.
In its retail portfolio, Treasury has signed two new tenants at Stillorgan shopping centre and two at Ballymun town centre. The company has also signed up 24 new tenants at Alto Vetro and Spencer Dock in the Dublin docklands.
Motor showrooms for sale
Cork estate agent Cohalan Downing is seeking offers of about €2.25 million for the former motor showrooms of PJ O'Hea at East Gate Business Park on Little Island in Cork. The state-of-the-art facility extends to 1,927sq m (20,000sq ft) and stands on two acres. The motor dealership operated for decades on Patricks Quay in Cork and relocated a few years ago to the new facility at Little Island.
Retail boost for Ashbourne
A new primary care centre to be opened by the HSE along the high street in Ashbourne town centre in Co Meath. The 1,765sq m (19,000sq ft) complex, currently being fitted out and due to open this summer, will provide a range of health and social care services.
Meanwhile, a further 40 retail jobs have been created in recent weeks with the arrival of three new retail stores in Ashbourne. Iceland frozen foods has opened a store of
743sq m (8,000sq ft); Crazy Prices is now trading out of a unit of 371sq m (4,000sq ft), while E-Mobile has opened its 11th retail outlet.
The opening of the new shops and the primary care centre is expected to lead to a further 10 per cent increase in the number of visitors to the high street.
