It was announced today that a new large Grade A office development comprising over 26,000 square metres of net lettable floor area in two distinct office blocks has commenced construction in Dublin’s prime Merrion Square area.
The Project will involve the retention and refurbishment of a number of protected Georgian structures and the construction of the two new seven storey office blocks designed by internationally acclaimed Grafton Architects, and O’Mahony Pike Architects.
The redevelopment of ESB’s site on Fitzwilliam Street Lower, which is effectively an entire city block, was given the green light by An Bord Pleanala in late 2015. PJ Hegarty’s were appointed as the main contractors in 2017 and have now cleared the site with excavations begun on basement construction. It is expected that over 500 jobs will be created during the construction which is due to be completed in spring 2020.
ESB will occupy one block for its new Head Office, “Fitzwilliam 27”, which will be approximately 13,500sq m and will house over 1300 staff. The adjacent block, “Fitzwilliam 28”, of approximately 12,500 sq m of prime Grade A sustainable space is to be offered to the market. Property Advisors, Savills and Bannon, have been appointed to secure a suitable tenant, or tenants, and will quote a rent of €619 psm (€57.50 per sq. ft.) based on a single tenancy.
Savills say opportunities for business development and talent acquisition are enhanced by the central location of Fitzwilliam 28. Dublin 2 enjoys the benefit of greater accessibility due to its pivotal position on the city’s transport grid which offers numerous public transport options via road, tram and rail.
Speaking this week, Chairman of Savills Ireland, Roland O’Connell and Lucy Connolly of Bannon commented, "There is simply no similar office development of this scale and flexibility available in the heart of the Georgian core and traditional CBD, close to all amenities and facilities, and certainly not with the sense of place and historic relevance this scheme exudes. With the understandable development constraints inherent in this area of architectural beauty and heritage it is unlikely we will see another new office scheme of this scale developed in this location again."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
