After lying dormant for several years now, the redevelopment of Carrisbrook House in Ballsbridge is set to get under way in the coming weeks. The long-standing home of the Israeli embassy is to be demolished and replaced with a new building to be known as “One Pembroke”.
Carrisbrook House, at the junction of Pembroke Road and Northumberland Road and across the road from the site of the former Jurys Hotel where the new US embassy is due to be developed, currently comprises 30,000sq ft of office space distributed over eight floors. Upon completion, its replacement, One Pembroke, will have 100,000sq ft of LEED-Platinum rated space with capacity for 650 workers across 10 storeys. The ground floor will incorporate a cafe facing on to Pembroke Road while occupiers at the building will have access to a number of terraces and views from the building’s upper levels across Dublin city and its surrounds.
Gresham House Real Estate (formerly Burlington Real Estate) is development manager for the project. The company, which is led by former Treasury Holdings chief executive John Bruder, has assembled a design and construction team that includes RKD (architects), John Spain & Associates, (planning consultants), Barrett Mahony (structural engineers), Homan O’Brien (MEP engineers) and HWBC/Knight Frank (leasing agents). About 150 construction and design team personnel will be working on the project once the redevelopment commences.
Gresham House acquired Carrisbrook House from Colony Capital and U+I in partnership with Orion Capital Managers for about €29 million in 2021. They secured ownership of the property in the face of competing offers from several parties including US real estate firm Hines, Johnny Ronan’s Ronan Group Real Estate, Pat Crean’s Marlet Property Group, David Kennan’s KC Capital, and international property developer Osborne + Co.
Colony Capital and U+I had purchased the building for their part, for €23.5 million in 2018, or just over half the €46 million developers Bernard McNamara, Jeremiah O’Reilly and the late David Courtney had paid for it in 2007. While Colony and U+I secured approval from An Bord Pleanála in 2018 to refurbish and extend the property, they never proceeded with that plan. They also struggled to find occupiers for the building. Indeed, until its move to 23 Shelbourne Road, the Israeli embassy was the sole tenant at Carrisbrook House since AIB Fund Managers vacated their offices there in 2008.
The demolition of Carrisbrook House is due to begin in the coming weeks and will coincide with the demolition of the former Jurys Hotel across the road to make way for the development of the new US embassy.
Commenting on his company’s plan for the site, John Bruder, managing director of Gresham House’s real estate business said: “There has been a dearth of new commercial developments commencing in Dublin in recent years and we believe that there will be strong demand for new office space when we complete the project in late 2026, early 2027.”
