Dundrum three get go-ahead to build more space in old centre: It has been a good week for the three boys in Castlethorn Developments who have finally got the go-ahead to turn Dundrum into south Dublin's principal shopping precinct.
Partners Liam Maye, Joe O'Reilly and John Fitzsimons have already pre-let most of the shops in the €250 million town centre due to open next spring.
And to cater for the overflow, they have just got the green light from the planning appeals board to build another 30,379 sq m (327,000 sq ft) of shopping on the site of the present rundown shopping centre in Dundrum.
The combined complex with its new Luas service and link road to the M50 will undoubtedly put it in a different league to all other shopping centres on the south side of the city. And to think that Stillorgan still has not got permission even for a revamp.
Castlethorn will be sitting on a €700 million-plus investment when the final phase of Dundrum is completed in a little over two years. The company, which had a modest beginning about 15 years ago, is also one of the largest-and most innovative - housebuilders in the greater Dublin area.
Its role in the housing industry will become even more demanding in the next few years when it begins development work at Adamstown in west Dublin, where it owns most of the land designated for about 10,000 new homes.
Ex-pats eager for fixer-uppers
Sherry FitzGerald's regional partners treated themselves to a weekend bash in London recently, but it was by no means a junket. They took over the ballroom of the Copthorne Tara Hotel in Kensington to show off a huge range of properties for sale in Ireland from west Cork to Donegal.
And just as the Irish are currently hell-bent on buying properties in the UK, the ex-pats showed strong interest in getting their hands on a bit of the old sod.
Not, surprisingly the main interest was in fixer-up houses in unspoiled rural locations, while the Dublin agents present were not overrun with enquiries.
The word seems to have filtered through that houses and apartments in Dublin are highly priced compared with the UK and that's even with the sterling difference.
One of the star attractions at the show was a series of seminars given by economist Marian Finnegan, who was able to show the continuing benefits of buying in Ireland.
In other words the boom ain't over yet. It was not all one-way business for the agents, several of whom spent some of their time searching out both residential and commercial investments for their Irish-based clients.
Don't be surprised if Sherry Fitz decides to open a permenant office in London, given the enthusiastic response to their latest roadshow.
