The combination of a 5 per cent net initial yield and an average lease term of over seven years should see strong interest in the sale of a landmark mixed-use investment in Dublin’s historic Liberties.
Located next to the well-known Vicar Street venue and across the road from the National College of Art and Design on Thomas Street, Sixty-One, as it is known, is being offered to the market by agent Knight Frank at a guide price of €14.75 million.
Developed by Paddy McKillen jnr and Matt Ryan's Oakmount, the subject property comprises a statement landmark building designed by Lawrence and Long Architects. The building consists of 1,225sq m (13,189sq ft) of grade A office accommodation over four floors with a bar/restaurant/cafe trading as John's Bar and Haberdashery on the ground floor extending to 320.70sq m (3,452sq ft). The property extends to 1,545.94sq m (16,641sq ft) in total with secure car and bike parking for its tenants at basement level.
Sixty-One Thomas Street is fully let and generating total rental income of €810,228 per annum currently from a line-up of tenants that includes Lumen Technologies, Digitize New Media, McCann Advertising, Press Up Group subsidiary The Workman’s Club and Oakmount. Should a sale be completed at the guide price of €14.75 million, the prospective purchaser would secure a comparatively attractive 5 per cent net initial yield (after standard acquisitions costs of 9.96 per cent). The investment also offers a secure weighted average unexpired lease term of over seven years, giving the buyer a wide number of more competitive funding options.
In terms of its design, Sixty-One retains much of its historical fabric and has been restored and added to by the developer for the digital age. Part of the building dates from the 1600s when it was known as one of Dublin’s finest purpose-built inns, The Golden Last. The historical fabric of the original building has been preserved, dated and documented, and some 4,000 artefacts uncovered by a full archaeological excavation are now safely with the National Museum.
Contemporary architecture
Sixty-One Thomas Street was highly commended in the Adaption and Re-Use category in the RIAI Architecture Awards 2021. Historic timber beams, brickwork walls and a basement-level brickwork barrel vault uncovered during site investigations were assessed by experts to determine their age before being retained and exposed as part of the new building’s design.
The building was also included as part of the Open House architecture festival 2021, which gave the public the opportunity to experience and understand how its original fabric was combined with contemporary architecture for its redevelopment.
Internally the building has been fitted out to a high specification. The interior finishes have been expertly designed and curated by interior architects O’Donnell O’Neill.
The reception incorporates feature light fittings complementing the building’s restored 17th-century brick and bronze leather-bound handrails and polished concrete floors. The entire property is serviced by energy-efficient 13-person Kleeman Atlas high-speed lifts (1.6m per second).
The lobbies comprise a combination of restored 17th-century brick-and-lime walls, continuous full-height wood panelling with detailed bronze edging and matt-finished plastered walls. Access to the offices is provided by glazed double doors with electronic secure access control to each floor.
The office floors benefit from a raised access metal floor with natural oak finish. Office ceilings provide for exposed services design but can also accommodate conversion to traditional suspended ceilings. A VRF simultaneous heating and cooling a/c system is utilised and there is energy-efficient LED lighting throughout.
Bathrooms incorporate high-quality ceramic sanitary-ware and fittings, with water-efficient automated appliances. There are three individual shower rooms and one wheelchair-accessible shower room at basement level, together with seven secure car spaces, 32 bike spaces and communal drying room/changing room and locker facilities.
Externally there is an attractive pointed red brick (with honeycomb detail in part) façade incorporating high-performance (thermal and acoustic) double-glazed full-height windows. The penthouse floor has frameless curtain walling including vertical louvres.
The building’s ESG credentials are investment grade with a Ber rating of B1 (LEED Gold equivalent).
