Offices Construction is underway on a €45 million office, retail and residential development that will offer one of the most attractive locations in central Dublin.
Hanover Reach, where office space will likely rent at €650 per sq m (€60.4 per sq ft), is the only south-facing office block in the entire south docks area that also offers waterfront and mountain views.
Ellier Developments is behind the Hanover Reach development. The six-storey office building offers a net floor area of 5,696sq m (61,311sq ft) and sits on Hanover Quay, looking over Grand Canal Harbour. It has extensive frontage on to Hanover Quay, Benson Street and a new street under construction.
When fully let, this block could have a sales value pushing €70 million, according to Roland O'Connell of Hamilton Osborne King. HOK is joint agent on the project with CBRE.
Associated with this office element is a residential block, which will match the spectacular views over water and on to the Dublin mountains. There will also be retail space at ground level below the 68 residential units to be built at Hanover Reach. The development is expected to be completed by late 2007.
It has not yet emerged whether Ellier Developments will sell the residential element from plans or wait until the development is closer to being finished, O'Connell said.
The timing of the development was an important consideration, according to Francis Rhatigan of Ellier Developments. "We thought about the timing of the construction of this building very carefully, as we did not want to have it ready too early and find ourselves in the middle of a building site," he said.
He believes the company has its completion well matched to its location "as not only is demand buoyant for good quality office space but some of the leading companies in the country are already in occupation".
Companies already in the Grand Canal Harbour area including O2, Beauchamps Solicitors and PFPC, the fund management company.
The last few weeks have seen McCann FitzGerald occupy a new corner building and Dillon Eustace and Matheson Ormsby Prentice will soon follow.
Others in place nearby include Gardiner Theobold, the Dublin Docklands Development Authority, the Institute of Taxation, Google, and Mason Hayes & Curran.
Perhaps of equal importance is the completion by Ryde Developments of 1 Grand Canal Square. This high quality building fronts the new public plaza at Grand Canal Harbour and sits opposite the five-star Le Meridian Hotel which is under construction.
This central plaza, designed by architect Martha Schwartz, will be one of the city's most spectacular open spaces, onto which the area's new theatre will face. The plaza's design includes a walkway by Grand Canal Harbour, a feature that will be just a short stroll and within view of Hanover Reach.
Architects Burke Kennedy Doyle designed Hanover Reach, a term which means a stretch of water. The main elevations will be clad with a combination of polished and flamed Italian granite with a powder coated glazed aluminium curtain walling system and fully glazed balconies. The design allows for 39 designated car-parking spaces.
